The Kidnapped Hero Trilogy 1: Desperation
by rainingtearsofchocolate
Summary: OOC. An entirely new version is being written. Stay tuned.
1. Late

**Behold my first PJO fan fic. :D This is the start of a trilogy. I like it, or at least, I like the trilogy in general. Do you? Read (and review) to find out! :D**

**DISCLAIMER: Well, I've been called Harry Potter, Vince, Jeffrey, Goof, Nigel, Matt, Eric, and many other names, but ... I don't think I've ever been called Rick Riordan. So, I guess I don't own the series or its characters. *sighs* EXCEPT Zeus. That's right, my great-great-great (plus a billion more greats) grandfather lived in Ancient Greece, and he was the first one to pray to the storm god Zeus. So I guess I – oh, wait. Lil' goofie on my family tree here. Let me fix that – *smudge smudge smudge* – oh, shoot. No connection to Ancient Greece whatsoever. Oh, well. No characters for me. :(**

**Oh, and one more thing. Percy isn't invincible in my story. I know, I know, he bathed in the River Styx, he's completely invincible except for that one spot, yaddah yaddah yaddah ... but not here. Just so you don't get confused.**

**EDIT: THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER HAS BEEN REWRITTEN FROM SCRATCH ON MY WEB SITE. This version will soon replace the one seen here. :D I would replace it now, except the new version requires some plot-tweaking to other chapters that are not yet rewritten. But this version is terrible, and if you agree, go to my Web site. :)**

* * *

**{DAY ONE}**

**PPOV:**

Ah. Life was perfect. I happily trotted down to my cabin to get out of my sandy clothes, a smug grin on my face. I'm glad Poseidon hasn't had any more children in the couple of months since the law was lifted; otherwise my cabin-mate would've seen me come in, and he/she'd tell Chiron I'd been gone all night. And after seeing all the sand in my hair and clothes, it was only a short leap to Annabeth, and once they saw she had sand stuck in her long, blonde hair ... it wouldn't have turned out well at all.

Well, what can I say? I didn't MEAN to fall asleep there. I just ... didn't want to get up. How could I, with her head on my shoulder? And she was asleep, and she looked so cute, and ...

Okay. Enough on the topic. I got back in my cabin, took a long shower, got changed, and headed for the dining pavilion, getting there _just_ before the bell rang. Annabeth and I had plans for that night, and I couldn't wait. At 7, I'd head over to her cabin. I couldn't contain my excitement.

When I was sitting at my table, I noticed Annabeth wink at me. I grinned like an idiot.

Clarisse and the Stoll brothers snickered to themselves, but frankly, I didn't care.

Like I said, life was perfect.

* * *

**APOV:**

_Where is he?_ I wondered. It was already after eight. I knew Percy was crazy about me, so this wasn't like him. A twinge of doubt scratched at a corner of my mind, but I shoved it away. I would wait. He was probably just running late. He wouldn't do this to me. Not him.

But by nine, I wasn't as sure. I finally decided to go check on him.

I walked down to the Poseidon cabin and knocked on the door. I was about to call his name when I noticed the door open a bit. It hadn't been closed.

I opened the door the rest of the way. "Percy?"

My jaw dropped when I saw what was inside.

Stuff had been strewn everywhere: a hairbrush by the bathroom, toothpaste all over the sink, the blankets for his bed on the floor in the center of the room. But no Percy.

_Come on, Seaweed Brain. Where ARE you?_

I turned around, giving up. Then I noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the floor by his bed. I ran over to it and picked it up. Scared of what it might say, I looked - but I couldn't read the words. Realizing it had gotten dark, I turned on his lamp. There seemed to be a drop or two of water on the paper. But nothing could take away from the words.

**_WHY CAN'T I JUST TELL HER I LOVE HER?_**

I swear, my heart stopped dead for a few beats before slowly reviving. The world blurred.

_He loves me!_

_But then where is he?_ my mind countered._Gods, if he loves me, then why isn't he here to show it?_

Scared and confused and emotionally torn, I started walking back to his cabin door. I tripped over something on the floor. Startled, I looked down to see the perpetrator. Percy's bedsheets. I felt them, and noticed that there was something hard underneath.

_IT'S PERCY!_ Yes, I'm afraid the creepy atmosphere and the awkwardness and tension of the room got to me, and that was my first thought. Then I quickly shunned myself: _Oh, please. How could I think such a thing? It's obviously ..._ what could it have been? It felt long and thin. Only slightly nervous, I lifted the sheets. I gasped.

_No ..._

It was Riptide.

In sword form.

With a bloody tip.

I stood, shaking, and for the first time I noticed something. Now that I'd turned the light on, I noticed the immediate contrast popping out at me. The normally blue walls were smeared with red in some places.

I stepped closer. Blood.

The entire inside of the cabin was splattered with blood.

Now that I had turned on the light, I saw everything. There was a trail of blood from the bed straight to the door. The sheets were bloody, too.

Now everything clicked. The mess. The blood.

Percy was attacked.

There was a fight.

And he was taken.

* * *

**Confused about Riptide? Well, you should be. That's right, I'm not forgetting about our hero's sword's power. You'll get it later. :p**


	2. Doesn't Exist

**Hey, people! Sorry to end it on a cliffhanger ... some of you must hate me now ... (I know at least one of you does, :) ). BUT you better get used to it. Probably about half of my chapters will end in cliffhangers. It's just my style. Sorry.**

**xxxxwisegirlxxxx – Well, I will be doing that ... basically. Did you notice that this will be a trilogy? The first is totally APOV, then for the second I rewind all the way to the dining hall and do the whole thing again from PPOV, and then the third will switch back and forth until ********** happens. :)**

**DISCLAIMER: Well, as I recently discovered, I own absolutely none of the elements of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Waaaah. Dx**

**EDIT: THIS CHAPTER IS BEING REDONE. NO MAJOR PLOT CHANGES WILL BE MADE, BUT THE CHAPTER WILL BE LENGTHENED AND DE-CORN-IFIED. xD IF YOU ARE READING THIS, CHECK BACK PERIODICALLY FOR CHANGES.**

******I'm not very good at being Annabeth, before you say anything. Or Chiron, for that matter. Sorry about that. Dx**

* * *

******{NIGHT ONE}**

**APOV:**

_Not again, Seaweed Brain ..._ I thought at first. But then I remembered that this was much more serious than usual. With all the blood around, he might be hurt. Or ... worse.

I tried not to let myself make a big deal out of it.

I ran to Chiron anyway.

* * *

I found Chiron outside the Big House playing – you guessed it – pinochle with Dionysus.

"Percy's missing!" I shouted as I approached them.

Dionysus just laughed. "When _isn't_ Peter missing?"

Chiron sighed and stepped away from the table. "I'm sure he's fine, Annabeth."

"No! The walls of his cabin are covered in blood!"

_Don't make a big deal,_ I scolded myself.

That got Chiron's attention. "Show me," he commanded.

I obediently led him down to the Poseidon cabin. I didn't even realize I'd left the door open. Chiron walked (Or rather, galloped ... trotted? Something like that.) into the room, gazing at the walls, the floor, even the ceiling. Riptide was still where I'd left it.

"Was it this messy when you entered?" Chiron asked me.

At first I thought he was joking. "Uh ... yeah," I told him. "I haven't touched much."

He frowned. "That means there must've been some kind of fight."

_The entire cabin is covered in BLOOD! And just NOW you think there was a fight?_ I wanted to scream.

Then something else caught his eyes. He trotted over to where I had left Riptide on the floor. "Anaklusmos."

He turned to me. "Was this in the room when you arrived?"

I nodded, puzzled. Then I realized something.

Chiron looked really worried now. "Anaklusmos is supposed to return to Percy no matter where he is," he said, talking to himself more than me, avoiding eye contact.

I knew what he was getting at. I prayed he wouldn't say what I thought he was going to say.

"It's like ... like he doesn't exist."

He said it.

"You mean he's ... dead?" I stammered.

"No. The pen would still go to him until someone else used it, whether Percy's dead or alive," he reminded me. "And since he's not in this room, that would mean ... he simply doesn't exist."

My eyes grew wide with horror. "Maybe – maybe he ... maybe he's on an enchanted island, or maybe _he's_ been enchanted! _Something!_ How could he just not exist?"

Chiron shook his head. "It's not possible. I don't know how they did it, but it appears ..." He dropped his head.

"Well, we have to LOOK for him!" I protested. He was making me _furious!_

"I agree. We'll arrange for a quest –"

"_NO! I'll find him MYSELF!_" I screamed. I couldn't think straight. I didn't mean to sound so angry, but I did. I was. I grabbed Riptide, picked the cap up off the floor, recapped it, stuffed it in my pocket, and ran out of the cabin. I heard Chiron yell something after me, but I didn't care. I ran until I reached the woods, and kept running, not caring where I ended up, not caring where I was going.

Before I could react, the ground under me disappeared. I fell down face-first and splashed into the river, whacking my head on its walls. Blood started flowing from my head.

_There's been so much blood today. _That was my last thought before I blacked out.

* * *

**WOOHOO! ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER! AND I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS WHAT'LL HAPPEN! !**

**That didn't go entirely in the direction I'd planned, but I'm proud. Except for making Chiron out to be slightly meaner than he'd ever really be. I haven't read the books in a while, so sorry for OOC Chiron. And most people would say that Annabeth was extremely OOC towards the end, but if you've read the preview for _The Lost Hero_ (the new book), she was almost as desperate towards the end of it. And I mean, down on her knees and screaming at the sky desperate. So not _completely_ OOC Annabeth. :D**

**I might update again later today, and if not, tomorrow morning. See ya, and review please! :D**


	3. A Plan is Devised & A Big Stick is Found

**Hey! I was bored, so now I'm making another chapter on here! Woohoo! Hopefully now awesomekelly won't kill me. Oh, wait. Will this chapter end in a cliffhanger, too? I don't remember. Let's find out, shall we? :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I'm too busy crying over the fact that I don't own PJO to tell you that I don't own PJO. So you'll just have to deal without the knowledge that I don't own PJO. Now you'll never find out that I don't own PJO, because I'm crying so much I can't tell you I don't own PJO! So I hope you can live on without knowing the fact that I don't own PJO.**

**P.S. I'm now making a signature! Yay! Each time I post a chapter it'll be at the bottom, listing all of the interesting quotes that occurred while I was writing the chapter you're on. :) **

**P.P.S. Or is it P.S.S.? I think it's P.P.S. Oh, whatever. Anyway, for any of you who don't know who Malcolm is, he's a son of Athena in Annabeth's cabin, who appears in books 4 and 5.**

* * *

**{DAY TWO}**

**APOV:**

_My head hurts like it's on fire_. I slowly opened my eyes.

_Where am I?_ I wondered.

Malcolm was standing over me, feeding me ambrosia. Looking around with my eyes, I found I was in the infirmary.

_Reminds me of the time I did this to Percy,_ I thought.

_Percy. Stolen. Riptide. Blood._

Everything started flooding back. _Flooding. Underwater. River._

_I hit my head in the river!_

Don't you hate it when you've been sleeping for a long time, and you wake up and don't remember anything for a couple seconds? And then once you do, the stress of your life just hits you all over again? Sigh.

_Fire! IS MALCOLM OVERFEEDING ME?_

_Relax, you're just stressed,_ I told myself.

"Good, you're awake," Malcolm said calmly, quickly putting down the fiery food of the gods. Eat too much and you get feverish. Any more and you burn to ashes.

"Chiron wants to talk to you," he informed me. He walked off. I heard in the distance: "Chiron! She's awake," followed by the sound of a galloping horse. Chiron entered the room, leaning over me on my bed.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, gesturing towards my head.

Confused, I quickly raised my hand to my forehead. There was gauze wrapped around the top of my head. I felt around, just now noticing my bandages. I touched the top-right part of my head, and the pain that erupted almost made me yelp. I felt like a failed Hawaiian performer who had a little mishap while fire dancing.

Chiron must have noticed me cringe. "You'll be okay," he reassured. "You just need a day of rest."

"No ..." I argued, struggling not to show the pain I was in. The food of the gods was helping, but he was right. I needed rest. "Percy ... needs me."

"No. He needs help, but you are in no condition to search at the moment. I'll assign a quest."

"No!" I protested. That word seemed to be popping up a lot. "I have to ... save him. I'll find him ... on my own."

"No. You need rest," he said sternly.

"No. I need Percy."

"No! I'm sorry, and I don't mean to sound fierce, but in your best interest, you need rest, and you'll stay here." Well, I gotta give him credit for standing his ground.

I was about to argue further, but I didn't see a point anymore. Chiron wasn't backing down.

"Can I at least see my friends?" I asked him. "Grover and Nico and ..." I was going to start naming others, until I realized that most of my friends were either mortal, dead, missing, or immortal. _Have I seriously been reduced to having three **boys** as my closest friends?_ I realized. (**A/N: Yes, I am a boy, but I've seen the some of the girls' profiles; I know what they think of us. Curse you stereotypical meanieheads! We're _not_ like Slinkys! We're _not_! I'm not talking about _every _girl, I'm only cursing the stereotypical ones, and they know who they are! Okay, enough of this rant. Back to the story.**) "And ... yeah. Grover and Nico?"

Chiron nodded. A few minutes later they were standing over me. "Are you okay?" Grover asked me, his face full of worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I had to tell them my plan. I tried to sit up, but my head forced me back down. So I tried a different approach. "Lean down. I need to tell you something," I whispered.

They knelt down so I could whisper into their ears. I told them what I had to do. Grover backed up, arms out in front of him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can't _do_ that!"

But Nico shook his head. "She has to," he said. "She needs to, for her own sake." I shot him a grateful look.

Grover sighed. "I can't believe this. Okay, fine. How can we help?"

"I need a big stick," I told them.

Grover almost laughed. "You know, the phrase 'Walk proudly and carry a big stick' isn't always right. In fact, I'm not even sure if _I'm _right! I think the word 'high' was in the sentence. 'Walk high' ... no, 'step high' ... no, that's not it ..." He trailed off and started pacing, trying to remember a meaningless quote by Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin or Theodore Roosevelt or someone like that.

* * *

**GPOV:**

"Don't you want to know _why_ I need it?" Annabeth asked me.

"I know," Nico said. He knelt down and whispered something to her. I caught bits and pieces, enough to know the basis of what he said.

Annabeth nodded.

He grinned. "Plus, who doesn't love just going up to random civilians and brandishing a big stick in their faces?"

Annabeth and I smiled for the first time in a day. Only Nico di Angelo.

"So you'll help me," Annabeth said. "Good. Just bring one here for me to use if I need to by tonight. And _don't_ let Chiron see it."

We nodded, although I wasn't too happy about it.

"Now, what time is it?" Annabeth asked.

"Oh, early morning," I replied. "You fell in around 9:30 and slept straight through the night." When she gave me a confused look, I told her, "I was there when you fell. Looking for Juniper. I saw you running by me, falling straight into the river."

Nico nudged me. "Looking for Juniper, eh, Grover? What exactly were you planning to _do_ with Juniper once you found her?"

My face grew a fiery red. "Shut up, twerp!" Nico just grinned wider.

I looked over at Annabeth, but she had fallen asleep. That wound must've really drained a lot of energy.

I shushed Nico, and we tiptoed (or rather, he tiptoed and I tiphooved) out of the room. I told Chiron she was asleep, and we left the infirmary.

* * *

**{NIGHT TWO}**

**APOV:**

"Looking for Juniper, eh, Grover? What exactly were you ..."

I blinked, and suddenly it was a bit darker in the room, and Nico and Grover were gone. I'd fallen asleep.

Looking over toward the side of my bed, I noticed a thick, big stick, probably about two or three feet long. I smiled. They'd pulled through.

I grabbed the stick and stashed it under my bed. Checking out the window, I estimated it was about three in the afternoon. I decided to sleep now. _I'll need my energy tonight,_ I thought.

When I tried to fall asleep, my thoughts immediately drifted to Percy. Is he safe? Is he in danger? Where is he? Does he miss me?

I tried not to think about it. I instead thought about what I'd be facing that very night. It'd be a long one. But that just made me worry about Percy even more.

And when I finally fell asleep, I had the worst nightmare I've had in a long while.

* * *

**What happens in her dream? Stay tuned for Chapter 4!**

**What is this plan of hers? Find out in its entirety in Chapter 5!**

**Will she ever find Percy? Get ready for Chapter ... well, actually, it'll be a while before I can answer that.**

**I just wanted to have, like, a TV announcer thing. But it didn't work that well, did it?**

**Ah, well. Review please! Oh, and in your review, tell me what you think I should name this chapter. I'm posting it as Chapter 3, because I can't decide what to call it. I've come up with "The Big Stick", "No, Fire, and Other Repetitious Words", "A Plan is Devised", "The Infirmary", "Need Some Sleep", and others, but I can't decide on a good one.**

**Well, I know what to call Chapter 4. I'll start it today, but it might not go up until tomorrow. See you then! :D**

* * *

**QUOTES THAT OCCURRED DURING THE WRITING OF THIS CHAPTER:**

******"Wait - I was about to say Silena was feeding her the ambrosia, but now I'm wondering if Silena's dead. Ueh, yeah, she dies in The Last Olympian. Oh, well."**

******"YES! _THAT'S_ IT! Oh, wait, hold on."**

******"End. End. End. END! Why won't the end button work! Oh, wait. I'm on the wrong line. This one is blank."**

*******phone rings, looks at caller ID* "NO! You've been calling me all day! I don't want to talk to you right now. GO AWAY! Oh, wait, I read that wrong." *picks up phone* "Hello?"**

******"Don't make me drool, Nico! Oh, wait, you're fictional."**

******"I WANT TO BRANDISH A GIANT STICK AT PEOPLE! _TAKE ME WITH YOU!_"**


	4. The Dream

**Woohoo! I'm back! That's right, I'm updating for the _fourth day_ in a row! YAY! Maybe you could repay me ... in _chocolate ..._ *sighs, goes into fantasy land* Woah, what? Oh, sorry. Drifted off there a sec. What were you saying? WHAT? YOU THINK I'M A SELFISH MORON WHO'S EXPLOITING YOU JUST TO GET THE CHOCOLATE I WANT? That's impossible! Totally unrealistic! Mindbogglingly untrue! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! How the heck did you figure all that out?**

**Oh, shoot.**

**Wow, people on this site update a lot. I posted the previous chapter yesterday afternoon, I think, and my story is currently at #119 in Update order. Wow. At least that'll change once this goes up.**

******EDIT: I was reading this chapter over and I realized: Why quite frankly? What's with that? Why not ... quite bobly? Quite stevely? Benjaminly? Zackly? Why does it even have to be a male's name? Why couldn't it have been quite beccaly or quite pamly? Hmm. Quite pamly. I like that. I should start using that.**  


**DISCLAIMER: A friend informed me that while I was crying about not owning PJO, I told the world I don't own PJO a total of six times, all while saying I was crying too hard about not owning PJO to tell them I don't own PJO. I didn't mean to say that I don't own PJO while crying about how I don't own PJO. I _meant_ to say nothing at all about not owning PJO while crying about not owning PJO. And now - oh, no, I've done it again. I gotta sit down. I'm dizzy. In fact, I'm so dizzy, I've decided to include a recap for absolutely no reason at all.**

* * *

**That's right! It's RECAP time!**

**PREVIOUSLY ON _THE KIDNAPPED HERO TRILOGY ..._**

When I tried to fall asleep, my thoughts immediately drifted to Percy. Is he safe? Is he in danger? Where is he? Does he miss me?

I tried not to think about it. I instead thought about what I'd be facing that very night. It'd be a long one. But that just made me worry about Percy even more.

And when I finally fell asleep, I had the worst nightmare I've had in a long while.

* * *

**{NIGHT TWO}**

The first thing I saw was Percy.

He was asleep.

His wrists and ankles were chained to a dark-grey wall. He was trapped in a section of the room that was barred off from the rest. It looked like a prison cell. In the part of the room that was outside the cell, there was a desk by the far wall, a grey door not far away. The entire room seemed to be constructed of grey bricks. Honestly, it was extremely depressing.

Then the door opened.

And in walked the last sight I expected to see.

A terribly fat woman holding a Chihuahua.

The woman had beady eyes; very pointy, yellowish teeth; a floppy denim hat; and a denim dress. She almost looked like a blimp, she was so fat. The Chihuahua bore a rhinestone collar. Something tugged at the back of my mind. This lady and her dog seemed very familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"I think it's time we woke him up, sonny," said the fat woman, licking her lips with her forked tongue.

Wait - WHAT?

The chihuahua leaped out of the woman's hands and walked through the bars to Percy. It barked.

And grew to the size of a Doberman.

It barked again, and grew even more, to the size of a tiger. As it continued to bark, which was sounding more and more like a roar, it just got taller and taller. Eventually it was almost too big for the room.

Now it had the head of a lion, its mane caked with blood; the body and the hooves of a humongous goat; and a ten-foot diamondback growing right from its body, like a tail. Its collar was still around its neck, and now I noticed a plate-sized dog tag: **CHIMERA - RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS - IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS - EXT. 954.**

THE CHIMERA.

The Chimera gave one last bark, and Percy was snapped out of his sleep.

"Have a nice nap?" asked the woman - Echidna.

Percy immediately stood, backing up against the wall. "_You._"

"That's right. Have you forgotten that you FAILED to kill me back at the Gateway Arch?"

Percy looked like he'd been slapped in the face. I wondered what he was thinking.

"I've heard you've become a bit more faithful in the gods," she said. Was she stalling? Or, quite frankly, just being creepy? "Maybe even faithful enough to destroy Kronos." She then laughed a bitter laugh. "I can remember last time I encountered you. You didn't trust the gods at all. Just look at you now!"

"Yeah. I've gotten a lot better, and a lot smarter. And I can destroy this Chihuahua as well. Along with you, the anteater," Percy replied calmly.

Echidna scowled. "I thought I told you _never to_ _**say** that_!" She began advancing on Percy, becoming more furious with each step. "_I **hate** that stupid country for naming their **stupid** animal after me! _You should be more careful what you say, boy. You almost got yourself killed the first time. This time, _you won't be so lucky_."

Percy instinctively reached for his pockets. When he found they were empty, his eyes widened in horror and confusion.

"That's right." Echidna smirked. "_Anaklusmos_ is gone. You'll never get it back." She laughed a cold, cruel laugh.

Percy still seemed stunned. "How ...?" he asked.

Echidna took a pen from her denim dress. She uncapped it.

And it turned into a sword.

_Is that ..._

Echidna and the Chimera advanced on Percy, Echidna swinging Riptide back and forth. Percy cringed.

And I was awake.

I knew now who kidnapped Percy. Percy never managed to kill Echidna or her son, and now they were back.

But how did she have Riptide?

Wait. _I _had Riptide. I had taken it from Chiron before I fell in the river. It was in my pocket.

I checked.

It was gone.

That left only three explanations: First, that theory Percy came up with was true - Riptide only returns to him while in pen form. Since I recapped it right before I fell in, it would then return to Percy, where Echidna could steal it while he slept. But we had already proved that theory wrong on multiple accounts.

Second, the pen fell out of my pocket when I fell into the river. But that didn't explain how Echidna got it.

Or third, and I liked this one the least: Echidna had been here.

In this room.

And she stole it from me.

Confused, I looked out the window. Night had fallen. Now was my chance.

I reached under my bed and grabbed the stick.

I got out of the bed, slightly dizzy, but using the stick to balance myself.

And I hobbled out of the infirmary.

* * *

**UH OH!**

**IT'S ECHIDNA AND THE CHIMERA!**

***calls off into the distance* CAN I GET A LITTLE GIRL OVER HERE?**

***little girl arrives***

**"_They're baaaaaack._"**

***little girl leaves***

**Thanks, honey! I left a fruit basket in your trailer!**

**Ah, yes. Where was I ... Oh, right. Anna - WHOA, WHAT WAS THAT? Giant boom from outside! Thunder? ... or MONSTER?**

**Sorry. Easily distracted. ANNABETH LEFT! Ooh, she's sneaky. What's she up to? Find out next chapter! Woohoo!**

* * *

**QUOTES THAT OCCURRED WHILE THE CHAPTER WAS IN THE WORKS:**

**"Let's see ... can Celestial bronze be burned? I don't know ... Wikipedia, anyone? Okay, let's see ... celestial bronze. There we go. Wait a sec - why am I in the Powers/Abilities section of the Percy Jackson article? *gasp* FICTIONAL? THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS CELESTIAL BRONZE? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Wow. That really stinks for Percy. But now I'll never find out if I can burn it! Oh, wait. Another idea! REWRITE TIME!"**

**DISCLAIMER: Wait. Another one? Oh, well. I just felt I had to mention that I don't own Wikipedia. ALL THAT KNOWLEDGE ... LOST. :(**


	5. Empathy Link

**Okay, first of all, THANK YOU to all of my reviewers. You've helped me notice a couple of errors and help explain them before they grew to be problems. And thanks for the compliments, as always. I think most users respect their reviews, but only about half actually say it. Now I'm getting all puppy-dog princess on you, which is even weirder since I'm a guy and I've never wanted to be a princess, so I'll just stop talking right now before this gets awkward.**

**Yeah ... awkward.**

**Well, right now I'm listening to "Back Again" by Daughtry over and over again. I've become obsessed. I hate how it's not on any album; you have to search for it online. But it's still awesome! :D Maybe I'll include it in a future chapter. Don't worry, this won't become a songfic or anything, but ...**

**Amazing smiley: ****/-\_ . :-| Confused dude. xDDD**

**Okay, back on topic.**

**DISCLAIMER: Waah. Me don't own PJO. This time I feel no need to say it again. I also don't own Back Again by Daughtry. That's why it's "by Daughtry," not "by rainingtearsofchocolate."**

* * *

**{NIGHT TWO}**

I left the infirmary and started walking towards the woods. The Camp Half-Blood forest is always a good place for me to wind down when I'm distraught.

But as soon as I got to the first tree I heard a voice inside my head.

**_Where do you think you're going?_**

I groaned. "Mom, NOT NOW!" I screamed.

_**You get back in that bed. You already hurt yourself once because of that boy this week. I don't want you risking anything else to save him. Foolish boy. I never should have allowed you to date him in the first place.**_

"STOP IT!" She was getting me furious. I continued walking into the woods.

_**Don't make me come down there! You get back to that infirmary right now!**_

"Or WHAT? I've already lost everything! Echidna made sure of that. _What else can you take away from me?_"

_**You'd be surprised the many ways I could answer that question.**_

"I _don't care_!" Athena was like a porcupine hat. "_You can't hurt me anymore!_"

_**Annabeth, calm down. You've already started running, but there's nowhere to run to. Just accept it. You don't even know where he is!**_

Woah. She was right. I had absolutely no idea where to look for him.

**_You keep looking, you might as well say your goodbyes now – if you've got anyone left to say goodbye to._**

I stopped walking. I turned around, like I expected to see Athena right behind me. But no.

"You coward – SHOW YOURSELF!" I shouted. I'd never been too angry at my mom before – I mean, sure, there were all those times when she'd tried to break Percy and me apart, and when she voted for Percy's destruction – but this was different. She was trying to make up my own mind.

The goddess of wisdom should have known better.

Finally, a part of me snapped. "WHY CAN'T YOU BE THERE FOR ME?"

"What?" asked a voice from behind me. I whirled around to see Athena standing right behind me, in mortal form.

At this point I barely even knew what I was saying. My heart had taken control. "You put us through heck. Every day, do you know what it was like? We were just waking up at the start of the end of the world – _on a daily basis_! And every day, we had to wonder what our life was going to be worth if we died. Do you know what that feels like?"

Athena started to answer, but I stopped her. "No. You don't. You're a _god_, for crying out loud! You don't know what it's like, to always be _inches away from death_ – I can't always be rock solid, you know! Sometimes I _NEED A BREAK_!"

I dropped to my knees, and the tears that had been threatening to burst finally came free. I started crying, and I couldn't stop myself. I guess you must think I'm a baby, or that I'm above tears. But after all those years of bottled-up emotions, everything just poured out at once.

"Do you see what you've done to me?" I asked through my tears, still looking toward the ground, still holding my stick.

Athena was silent.

I looked up. She was gone.

I raised myself to my feet and started to run again, or as best I could while crying and dizzy, each amplifying the other. My mother's words echoed through my brain: _You've already started running, but there's nowhere to run to._ I didn't care.

I realized I wasn't going to get far just running through the woods, so I turned around again and walked all the way down to Thalia's pine tree, the Golden Fleece still shimmering in its spot. Looking back at the camp, I made up my mind. I continued on and left the camp behind me.

* * *

**GPOV:**

The empathy link. Why hadn't I thought of it sooner?

_You can tell where the other person is with an empathy link,_ I realized. But after trying for a few minutes, all I came up with was Wyoming.

_That's a great start, but I have to contact Percy,_ I thought. _Once he knows what's going on over here, he'll contact me, and Annabeth and I can go and find him!_

I prepared to call to Percy. _I hope this works._

There. Now all I had to do was talk.

_Come on, Percy. Hear me._

* * *

**APOV:**

After a very long walk I was on a busy street. There weren't very many cars out, seeing as how it was the middle of the night, but when one came along it seemed like they were moving half a mile an hour and the speed of light, both at the same time.

_Gods, I'm going insane!_ I silently stated. _Where's the wisdom part of being Athena's daughter when you need it?_

I sat down on the street and took a good look at myself. My life had become so confusing, so messed up, in little more than a day.

_What am I doing?_ I asked myself. _I just ran away from camp! I mean, I've done it before, but this time I have absolutely NO idea where I'm going! Percy, why do you have to be such a Seaweed Brain sometimes?_

I remembered the crumpled note in his cabin. Another thing to worry about.

_Oh, Percy. Where ARE you?_

* * *

**GPOV:**

After a long while of desperate waiting, I got my answer.

Somewhere along the line, I'd fallen asleep. Now, the vision popped into my mind and interrupted my dreams. Percy was locked in some kind of cell. A jail cell?

_**Had Percy been** **arrested?**_ _No, that's stupid,_ I told myself.

"Grover, I have to be quick," he told me. "I've been kidnapped by Echidna. I don't have Riptide for some reason, and she says if I struggle, she'll sick the Chimera on me. Honestly, I've never been so scared of a fat lady with a Chihuahua. I'm in some kind of abandoned old-timey jail, I think, but honestly, I can't tell. I heard Echidna say something about Cheyenne. So either we're directly over a Native American burial ground, or we're in a city called Cheyenne. Yeah, I'm tired, I can't make a good joke. I imagine you're laughing at me, so I'll take it like you're laughing at my failure of a joke. I'll contact you if I can get a more specific answer, but that's all I got right now. And listen, I need you to tell Annabeth –"

"PERSEUS JACKSON, WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE?"

"Gods, it's like she's my mother," Percy commented. "Wa – Echidna –! Not Annabeth – Gotta go. See ya!"

The link faded, and I awoke.

_Cheyenne, Wyoming,_ I thought. _Random._

_I have to tell Annabeth!_

But it only took a couple of moments for me to realize ...

... I had absolutely no idea where she was.

* * *

**APOV:**

The empathy link!

Grover's empathy link!

I became ecstatic. All I had to do was go back to camp and Grover could tell me where Percy was!

I turned around and started walking. After about a minute I came to an intersection. My head turned left, then right, then forward.

I had no clue which way to turn.

_It's like the Labyrinth all over again!_ I thought to myself.

I guessed right and started walking. I quickly came to another intersection. I guessed left, and kept going. This seemed more like the kind of thing Percy would be doing, but I was desperate to get to him. I came across more and more intersections. Right, left, forward, left, forward, right, right, left –

I had reached a dead end.

That was when it finally dawned on me.

I was lost in the middle of New York.

* * *

**Yes! I finally managed to finish this chapter today. I didn't want to break my streak, but I was afraid I wouldn't finish in time. But I just did! :D**

**Now I've made a DOUBLE cliffhanger. DUN DUN! Awsomekelly, please don't attack me with a shotgun.**

******Why do I always think _ecstatic_ has an _x_ in it? o.O Whatever.**

**Warning: I might be breaking my six-straight-days tomorrow. Tomorrow's Monday, which means school, which means homework, which means – oh, shoot! I haven't even finished TODAY'S homework! Gotta go! Like, NOW! Reviews are appreciated, so WRITE THEM!**

**See ya!**

**(In the middle of this chapter, I make many references to a certain song by Matchbox Twenty. Why? Because I felt like it. If any of you reviewers can guess the song, I'll give you a virtual cookie! :D)**


	6. Death by School Supplies

**Okay! Well, thanks to my undying faith to my reviewers - and my undying fear of pistols - I'm back for another chapter already! Hopefully I can finish this whole thing tonight; if not, I'll make it up to you by posting TWO chapters one day this weekend. Talk about loyalty! I'm staying up REALLY late to post this, so you BETTER appreciate it.**

**Oh, NO. I've been hanging around my friend awsomekelly too long ... I'M GAINING HER BIG HEAD! :D jk**

**I would like to dedicate this chapter to my two fellow pyromaniacs Hazc and Frifgin (not saying their real names) for informing me about the true power of Elmer's. I mean, I knew about the Wite-Out - I mean, it _does_ get crackly when dried - but sprayable glue? This one's for you, Chaz and Irffgin.**

**EDIT: I've made this chapter longer because it was WAY too vague and short before. I've also fixed a couple mistakes I noticed. Hey, what can I say. I was tired, all right? I am aware that it is still short, but it'll probably stay like that. They can't all be monsters, you know!**

**That was a poor choice of words.**

**DISCLAIMER: I does not own the series this here's based offa. I also don't own Staples department store, Wite-Out, or Elmer's glue. :(**

* * *

**{NIGHT TWO}**

**APOV:**

I have to admit, I was worried. I had left the borders of Camp Half-Blood. The Golden Fleece could no longer protect me. My demigod scent could easily attract a monster.

Awkwardly, I walked around the city streets, searching for someone who could help me. I found a Staples on the street that seemed like it was still open. _I know this place,_ I thought. Percy had taken me here not too long ago. Someone in the Apollo cabin had dared him to hide a lighter inside and see how long it would stay in that spot before someone found it. He's such a seaweed brain. I'd never missed him more.

I walked inside and went up to a man standing behind the Customer Service desk.

_Wait,_ I thought. _What am I going to ask him? I can't exactly ask for directions for a demigod camp._

"Can I help you?" the man asked. He was probably in his thirties, wearing a polo shirt; black, short hair; and bluejeans. His name tag read Marv.

Before I could answer Marv, I heard a crashing sound, then a massive roar. I turned in time to see the door get ripped off its hinges. A stream of liquid flew through the room and hit a display shelf of easy buttons. It must've pressed one of the buttons, too, because I heard one utter a last "That was eeeeeeeeeeeeee ..." before the boiling acid melted them all.

"What the -" Marv started, but he had no time to finish. A Hydra came crashing into the store, destroying everything in its way. Its many heads turned, scanning the room, until they settled on me.

_What the - didn't we already kill that thing? Like, three or four years ago?_

_Well THAT didn't take long._

_"Well, you know what they say,"_ I could hear Percy say in my mind. _"When the dead gets living, the living kill it again."_

Now I missed my boyfriend even MORE.

_What will I do? There's no Clarisse with a cannon this time._

Then I had a genius idea. The problem was, it was the kind of thing only Percy would think of.

_Gods, I'm becoming more and more like him!_

I waited for Athena's disapproving voice, but it didn't come.

_Time to go to work._ Grabbing a shopping basket, I ran into the aisles and scanned and scanned the shelves until I found what I was looking for. Elmer's sprayable glue. I grabbed ten bottles and moved on. I searched until I found Wite-Out. I ran my hand along the shelf so that every bottle fell into my basket. Satisfied, I ran to a different part of the store, the furniture section, where I looked under a specific cabinet. _Please still be there,_ I prayed.

It was.

Grabbing it, I ran back to the Hydra, which was spraying acid every which way, and dumped the first few bottles of glue onto the floor. Then I grabbed the lighter I'd reclaimed and lit the glue on fire. Yeah, that's right. Elmer's sprayable glue is highly flammable.

I started spraying and dumping glue and Wite-Out (also flammable) into a trail that led as close to the beast as I could get. It sprayed acid at my face. I dodged, but I think it still grabbed some of those grey hairs I got from holding up the sky.

I covered my knife in Wite-Out, lit it on fire, and threw it at the beast, screaming a battle cry that would've normally come from one of the guys: "FOR THE EASY BUTTONS!" The monster immediately erupted in flames, the embers dancing across its dry, scaly skin. It roared and screamed. I just dumped glue on its head. It spit acid at me. I poured Wite-Out on its back. Finally it was dead. Again.

Death by school supplies.

The Hydra disintegrated and became just a half-white, gluey, monster sand mess.

Marv stood up from behind the counter. "What happened to the bloodhound?"

_BLOODHOUND? _Gods, that mist is powerful.

Marv's eyes widened. "And why is the store on FIRE?"

_Hades!_ I threw the lighter and empty bottles of glue and Wite-Out into the fire before running out of there like heck. Before too long I heard sirens in the distance. I just kept running. Finally I decided it was safe to slow down.

Time to keep looking for Camp Half-Blood.

* * *

**Sorry it's short, but I need my beauty sleep. :) Just be glad I got this done in time! :D Now you don't have to kill me, awsomekelly! Woohoo!**

**Hmm. For some reason I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh, well. If I am, I'll edit it later. :D**

**Night all!**


	7. Rescued! The Return

**Hello peoples! I haven't known what to write for a while, and I've been pretty stumped. :( Sorry it got so late, but with homework and writer's block, I've had a lot holding me back . :(**

**IMPORTANT! I've made chapter 6 longer! Some of the info might be needed later, so make sure to read it!**

**REVIEW REPLY TIME! :D - EMMS: Well, ACTUALLY, it's the EIGHTEENTH, not the NINETEENTH. So THERE. ... I don't know. I just wanted to be right about something. :) Sorry I'm two days late, but I've had a lot on my plate. No rhyme intended. greenplanet: How did they get a record label, anyway? :) Woah, wait - THREE WEEKS? It's already down to THREE WEEKS? _I'M SO EXCITED!_ And yes, I do recycle. :D**

**DISCLAIMER: Heh, heh. Disclaim. That's a funny word. Heh, heh. Oh, what? Oh, right, sorry. Now it's time to play .. WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE - BECAUSE YOU OWN PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS? *host walks into room* "You know the rules, you know the lifelines - let's GO! Question one: Does you own?" I doesn't. Boo hoo. I also doesn't Hilton. "CORRECT!" YAAAAAAAAAAAY! What'd I win? WHAT'D I WIN? "Uh ... nothing. Sorry. Goodbye."**

******NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**...

* * *

**{DAY THREE}**

**APOV:**

I was becoming exhausted. I'd been wandering around New York for hours and hours, and now I could see the sun rising.

Suddenly I stopped. _Okay, I KNOW I've seen that restaurant before._

I turned my head to the other side of the street. _And that Hilton looks familiar, too._

_I've been here before,_ I realized. _Gods, have I just been walking around in circles?_

"Annabeth!" I faintly heard someone, someone calling MY name. I turned around, searching.

"Annabeth!" I spun to my right. There! Was that -

I started running as fast as I could. "Annabeth!" He was running towards me, too.

I flew through the city streets. Finally, I reached the guy who had been calling me. "Annabeth!" he cried, wrapping me in a short, quick hug, before awkwardly backing away. "I thought I'd never find you."

"Malcolm!" I cried. (**A/N: HAA! I'M LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY RIGHT NOW! I BET AT LEAST SIX OF YOU THOUGHT IT WAS PERCY! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**) "How did you find me?"

"Athena led me to you!" he informed me. "She gave me directions on how to find you."

_**See? I can be supportive.**_ Her voice popped into my mind. Sometimes I wish I could just take the phone off the hook with her, you know?

"Supportive? Are you KIDDING me?" Malcolm looked confused, but I kept on going. "Where were you when I was attacked by that hydra?"

"You were ATTACKED?"

"Shush, Malcolm," I said harshly, before turning away again. "You COULD'VE led ME to CAMP!"

(**A/N: Sorry if Malcolm is OOC, but I totally forget his personality. I was going to look him up, but then I couldn't find him in the book, and then I didn't want to waste too much time ...**) Malcolm looked hurt. "I _was_ going to lead you to camp! And I left as soon as I found out -"

"QUIET, MALCOLM!" Then I immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry. I was talking to Athena, not you."

Malcolm nodded. He still looked confused, but he nodded.

Satisfied, I went back to pounding Athena. I wasn't done with her yet. "I _meant_, you could've brought me there LAST NIGHT! Like maybe, oh, I don't know, before I **_SET A STAPLES ON FIRE_**?"

"You wh -" I guess Malcolm learned his lesson, because he caught himself and shut up.

_**I was still mad at you. And I am**__ still mad at you. That's why I only gave directions to Malcolm._

"But you KNEW the way all ALONG?"

_**I'm the goddess of wisdom! What do you expect? Do you think my entire job is magically checking for food poisoning?**_

"I _EXPECT_ you to be a wise, good mother, and TAKE CARE OF **ALL** OF HER CHILDREN!"

People were definitely starting to stare now. I was screaming at a building to take better care of its children. Well, at least ONE mother listened to my advice, even if it meant hurriedly ushering her kids past me as they walked down the sidewalk.

_**I do take care of all my children, Annabeth. I'm doing this for your own good! I want to make sure you stay away from that ocean boy. He's nothing but bad news!**_

"Percy's dad approves of me! Why can't YOU accept HIM?"

**_Poseidon doesn't approve of you. He just doesn't really have anything against you. He couldn't care too much less if it went either way. That's another reason I despise that one. No common sense. No wisdom whatsoever._**

Another Percy thought entered my mind, but this one was so idiotic I won't even share it.

I was too frustrated to continue the conversation at this point. Not that it was much of a conversation. I turned and started walking down the sidewalk. "Come on, Malcolm," I said angrily.

"Uh - the camp's this way." Malcolm gestured over his shoulder.

"SHUT IT, MALCOLM!" But I did turn and follow him back to camp.

* * *

The first face to greet me was Grover's. He was running up to me like crazy, screaming "I KNOW WHERE HE IS! I KNOW WHERE HE IS!" He finally stopped in front of me. "I KNOW WHERE HE IS!"

I was shocked. "You know where he is?"

"I KNOW WHERE HE IS! I KNOW WHERE HE IS!"

"Is there an echo in here?" Nico asked, coming up beside him.

"So where IS he?" I asked. Suddenly I felt lightheaded. The world started spinning. I groaned and collapsed.

"Annabeth!" Grover cried, barely catching me before I hit the ground.

Okay, I admit it. It probably wasn't the best idea to leave last night. For one thing, I was just starting to feel better, and then I had to go and confuse my mind by walking around for hours. Second, I was up all night, and being crazy tired doesn't exactly help dizziness. Third, people must've thought I was some kind of hobo hobbling around while leaning on a stick -

_Woah._ I'd completely forgotten about the stick. Thinking back, I remembered eventually feeling well enough to just carry it. It now lay in the grass next to me. It reminded me of this one time we were going to the beach, but my father had forgotten where he left his sunglasses. He spent an hour and a half searching the house for them. Eventually he found them - when he bumped his head and they fell over his eyes. They'd been on his forehead the whole time. I'd basically done the same thing - carry around a giant stick without even recognizing the fact that it was there. Only a daughter of Athena.

The thought suddenly made me feel even sadder. Percy was a part of my family. When Echidna had taken him - it had just ripped me apart. Things had finally settled. I suddenly felt stronger, the power of my rage kicking in.

"Where's ... Percy?" I managed.

"Annabeth, you need to lie down."

"WHERE ... IS ... MY ... BOYFRIEND?"

"Please, Annabeth -"

"TELL ME WHERE HE IS!"

My world was rattled like a snow globe. Everything swirled in colorful circles around me. I couldn't think straight.

"Please, Grover ... tell me ..."

Grover sighed. "I'll tell you if you agree to go straight to sleep. Then we'll both head out tomorrow to find him. You swear?"

_No!_ I thought. _I need to go by myself!_

But Grover was the only one who knew where Percy was. I needed him.

"Fine ..."

Grover helped me to my feet and led me to my cabin. As he lay me down on the bunk bed, I realized that I was exhausted. I was already drifting off.

"I'll put your stick by your door," he told me. And right before I fell asleep, he whispered two words to me.

_"Cheyenne, Wyoming."_

* * *

**And that's where I'll leave off for tonight. Review please, although I'm aware that it doesn't actually say I've updated until chapter eight appears. Speaking of which, chapter eight should be up within the next couple of days. Yay!**


	8. Grover: Hijacker, Trickster, Satyr

**Hey, guys! Boo, my internet browser randomly closed when I was typing this, so now I have to START OVER, since I never saved. Why did it do that? Because my computer's STUPID, that's why. And now, of course, I'm compulsively saving every ten seconds. There, now that I've saved it, I can move on. Oops, I just typed the letter b. Wait. Why am I telling you this? You don't care. Or _do _you? MOVING ON! *save***

**Let me see if I can remember what I had typed before my STUPID COMPUTER deleted it. Okay, got it. This is where things will begin to get interesting, or at least in my opinion. And guess what? *save* I finally managed to do something above the thought process of a kindergartener (STOP UNDERLINING IT! IT'S A WORD!) *save* *save*, and plan out the rest of my story! *save* I probably _should_ fit each of my ideas into their chapters to make sure I have enough (yes, I have a planned number of chapters, you'll find out soon enough), but I'm too dumb and lazy. Which is why I still haven't made it to second grade thinking. *save***

**There, now that I've reached where I was before, *save* I can finally type something new. Like the ...**

**DISCLAIMER: *save* Heh, heh. Heh heh heheheh! Disclaim. Dissssclaaym. Disclaaaaaaaaim. Deh deh deh deh deh disclaim. DISCLAIM! *sees you staring at me* What? It's a GREAT word! *save* Well, I just bought a lottery ticket, and I'm hoping I win big bucks. You know what the ticket is called? _WIN THE RIGHTS TO PJO!_ Okay, I need to get three of the same trident symbol to win. *scratch scratch scratch* Oooh, there's one! *scratch some more* Gasp, another one! One more! *scratchadiddilyriffic* Another trident! I WON! WOOHOO! Where can I claim my prize? Let's see the fine print on the back! _This glorious prize can be claimed at ... yo' mama's house?_ Wait a second ... JAKE! YOU GAVE ME A FAKE LOTTERY TICKET! GET BACK HERE!**

**P.S. This chapter, along with the next couple of chapters, is dedicated to awsomekelly, for giving me some great ideas. See you in school tomorrow ... maybe. :P Blech. Sickness.**

* * *

***save* (A/N: You know what? I think you get the point, so I'll stop telling you every time I save.) *save***

**{NIGHT THREE}**

******APOV:**

I finally woke up sometime in the evening. I'd had a very strange dream - but this time, it was obviously not real. Percy and I were driving in a truck going to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and he kept reading the map wrong and he couldn't figure out how to hold it and we got stuck in a ditch and it erupted like a volcano and we got blasted all the way to this private island and we saw Grover (not the satyr, the Sesame Street character) and he tried to get us to ride his roller coaster - _Gods, I am SERIOUSLY turning into Percy. Only he would think of Sesame Street, and a volcano, and Wyoming._

WYOMING.

Is that where Grover had said Percy was? The capital of Wyoming?

_Well, it certainly is random_, I noted.

I noticed my stick was leaning against the wall by the door of the cabin. Good old reliable Grover.

Looking around, I realized the cabin was empty. Was everyone still at dinner? I decided that although I was starving, Percy was more important. Plus, I didn't exactly feel like getting hounded by Chiron just yet. But as soon as I stood up, my knees buckled and I fell to the floor. _Maybe I do need food,_ I thought. _Besides, I'm no good to Percy passed out._

Grabbing my stick, I headed out of the Athena cabin and walked to the dining pavilion. When I walked in, Chiron looked up from his food to see who was interrupting us, and when he saw me, he immediately stood and began to approach me. I prepared for the worst as he got closer, closer ...

"Annabeth. How are you feeling?"

I couldn't help it. My mouth hung open freely for a few seconds before I recovered: "Yeah, yeah, I'm doing ... great. The head barely bothers me."

"So is that why you've taken to using a stick as a cane?"

So _that_ was why he'd come over to me. I looked down. I have to admit, the stick did look a little odd and out of place.

"Uhhh ..."

Chiron managed a smile. "It's okay. You don't have to talk now. I already saved some of your dinner aside for you to pray to the gods with. Just toss it into the fire and you can join us at the table."

"Thanks, Chiron." Grabbing a small plate he had laid out for me, I walked over to the fire. I held up the plate, which held some mashed potatoes and a small piece of meat. _Poseidon, I want you to know that I am doing everything I can to save your son. And Athena, don't you dare try and stop me._

I dumped the contents of the plate into the fire.

* * *

After dinner, I went straight to the woods and searched for Grover. I looked all over camp, but I couldn't find him. I asked Chiron and Mr. D, but no one had seen him. Frustrated, I went back to my cabin.

My siblings obviously noticed I was upset, but they knew about Percy, so they made the wise choice and kept out of my way. A few even left the cabin. I plopped myself down on my bed, debating what to do next in my head.

_Grover, where ARE you?_ I asked myself.

I reached into my desk drawer and pulled out a rock. It was one of those special stones that, when angled just right against light, would create a rainbow. Percy had one, too; he gave it to me last month so we could always contact each other.

My eyes drifted around the cabin, until they stopped on a couple of drachmas I had on my table.

Suddenly I had an idea.

* * *

I held up the stone in front of the river, and an array of different colors appeared faintly in front of me. I tossed a drachma into it, and it disappeared. "Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Percy Jackson, Cheyenne, Wyoming."

An image appeared in front of me.

_Get ready,_ I told myself.

But it wasn't Percy I was seeing. It was just black. The image flickered and went out.

_What the Hades? Why didn't that work?_

I tried saying Percy's name again, but the same thing happened. Was Echidna somehow blocking the signal?

Sighing, I was about to give up. Then I had another idea. "Grover Underwood, uh ... well, he's a satyr ... oh, you know who I'm talking about, just call him!"

The image reappeared, but this time I saw something else. I saw Grover's face. In a car.

_HE LEFT WITHOUT ME!_

"GROVER!" I screamed.

Grover's eyes widened. I heard a loud car horn, and he starting swerving the black truck back and forth, struggling to stay in control. He desperately turned the wheel. Finally he settled. "Annabeth?" he called. When he saw me through the message, he instantly turned bright red. "Annabeth!"

I crossed my arms in front of me. "Explain," I demanded.

"I - uh - well - you - uh -" he stammered. "I had to, Annabeth! I couldn't let it become too late, and you were in no shape to come!"

"YOU PROMISED!" I fumed, sounding like a seven year old kid. I didn't care. "What happened to leaving _together_ tomorrow morning? Huh?"

Grover turned the wheel, and the image rumbled a bit. I saw a sign go by through the windows behind him: _DOG DAB A SANETHA HOTEL - THE BEST HOTEL_ _IN OHIO!_ For some reason I liked that title. I know, it seems a bit backwards, but there was just something about it ...

"Well, I'm stopping for the night," Grover told me. "But I'll be back with Percy in a few days."

"NO, Grover, PLEASE -"

"Bye, Annabeth." He swiped his hand through the message before I could say anything more.

I was furious at Grover. But at least he told me where he was, even if he didn't mean to.

I left the woods and headed for the exit. I had done the same thing last night, but this time I had new intentions.

* * *

**GPOV:**

I sighed. _Annabeth, why can't you just leave it to me?_

_Well, at least she can't find me now that I've left,_ I thought.

I got out of the truck I'd hijacked. Hey, don't judge - when it comes to Percy I do what I have to do. I was just about to enter the hotel when I saw the sign.

It was right next to where you pull into the parking lot. _Did Annabeth see it?_

I groaned. I couldn't risk her catching up with me.

_Sorry, Annabeth._

I got back in the truck and pulled out onto the road. _I'll just find another hotel further along,_ I told myself.

I put my hoof on the gas.

* * *

**APOV:**

I pulled into the parking lot of the library.

Time to use the Internet.

* * *

**Don't you just love hiding subliminal messages? I know I do. Nothing better than an easter egg. Why am I telling you this? Oh, no reason ...**

**Well, there you have it. Chapter eight. I was out sick from school today, so I got it done early. Boo sickness!**

* * *

**QUOTES THAT OCCURRED DURING THE WRITING OF THIS CHAPTER:**

**"Oh, a plastic Furby just fell!"**

**"Kindergartener ... that's a word! Don't underline it! Am I spelling it wrong? Let's see - no, I am NOT trying to spell 'undergarment'! That's kind of exactly the OPPOSITE of what I'm trying to say! Kindergartener! Not undergarment! _KINDERGARTENER_!"**

*******types 'kindergartener' into Word, it doesn't get underlined* "See? Kindergartener IS a WORD! Ha! ACCEPT IT! There. ADD TO DICTIONARY. Now you'll believe it! MWAHAHAHAHAH! WHAT? THE ONE I ADDED HAD A CAPITAL 'K' SO NOW YOU THINK THE WORD IS WRONG UNLESS IT HAS A CAPITAL 'K'? _I HATE YOU!_"**

******"Why would a TEENAGER swallow a _button battery_? OH! 13-_month_! Not 13 years - okay, now it makes sense."**

******"Don't mock me, pigeon."**

******"YONDER!****************************************"**

***************************************ring ring ring* *glances at Caller ID* "Washington DC? Wow! I feel so _honored_!"**

**************************************"Where is my sock?"**


	9. The Library

**Hello, audience! It poured hard last night, making everything outdoors wet and gloomy. I'm still sick, which really stinks. My head hurts, my throat hurts, and now my knuckles hurt because I cracked them. Well, it's an addiction. Wait, what? Oh, sorry. Sidetracked. I think my house is haunted. I swear! Just a few moments ago, as I was typing the first sentence, I heard something that sounded like someone dumping a bucket of water. It was coming from the unfinished side of my basement, but it was totally dry when I checked. Then I heard someone moving around upstairs, but no one was up yet. It's CREEPY! Huh? Oh, sorry - I'm easily distracted. You came here to read my latest chapter, which I will now provide, after my wonderful -**

**DISCLAIMER: *phone rings* Who could that be? *checks Caller ID* Jake? No. I'm not talking to you. You tricked me into thinking I had won copyright to PJO, but that ticket was FAKE! Oh, I hate you. I'm not picking up. Actually, you know what I'll do? I'll pick up, then immediately hang up! Yeah, I'll do that. *does it* Mwahahaha! *phone rings again* WHAT? *picks up* WHAT DO YOU WANT? Oh, Mom? Sorry, Mom. Heh, heh, heh ... Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I'm very sorry.**

**Again, this chapter is dedicated to awsomekelly for helping me with the idea.**

* * *

**{NIGHT THREE}**

**APOV:**

I walked into the library. A sign on the door had said "FREE WIFI", so I knew I came to the right place.

But as I strolled over to the WiFi section, I quickly discovered that they didn't provide the computers - you needed to bring your OWN. Frustrated, I walked up to a random guy. He appeared to be in his thirties, wearing a purple, green, and orange-striped shirt and jeans. His black hair was short. Standing over him, I crossed my arms and looked him right in the eye. He looked up from his laptop.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

I spontaneously burst out laughing. He looked and sounded SO MUCH like the Customer Service guy from Staples that it was downright ridiculous.

Apparently I was creeping the guy out, because he narrowed his eyebrows and started to stand up.

I quickly stopped myself and put my hands out in front of me. "No, please, wait - I'm sorry. You just really reminded me of someone I saw the other day. I need your help."

He didn't look too anxious to do _anything_ for me, but I caught him off guard, and I took his hesitation to my advantage. "I just need to look up something online. I have to help my friend, but I don't know how to get to him. Please? I just need to look up the name of his hotel online and see if I can get directions."

"Why don't you just call him?"

_Because demigods can't have phones, that's why._ Of course, I didn't actually _say_ that. What I actually said was, "His phone is broken. I would _really_ appreciate it."

After a bit more persuasion, he eventually agreed, as long as he was the one who actually used the laptop. I guess he thought I might have been planning to run off with the computer. That didn't make it any less annoying, but it was better than nothing.

He opened up Google and turned to me. "What do you need me to type in?"

"It's the Dog Dab a Sanetha Hotel. It's in Ohio," I told him.

"_Dog Dab a Sanetha?_" he asked me. "What is that, like, Spanish or something?"

I shrugged. But he typed it in, and once I informed him of the spelling, we found the hotel's website. They weren't a major chain. There were a few more scattered across the country, but no others in Ohio. He switched to Google Maps, and we looked up the hotel name. He chose the only option from Ohio, and gave our own location. Hooking up to a printer they had in the back of the library, he was able to provide me with step by step directions to the hotel.

"Thank you!" I shook his hand.

The man smiled. "You're welcome. My name's Timothy."

_Should I tell him my name?_ I wondered. Before I could stop myself, I suddenly blurted out the name Dorothy. _Great. Speaking without thinking. He's only been gone a few days and I'm already become his blond clone._

Timothy pondered the false information I had given him. "Hmm. Dorothy. I like it."

I nodded and smiled, and he walked away. Finally, I breathed a sign of relief.

Before anything else could possibly go wrong, I ran out of the library to the parking lot. For the first time I noticed what a sweet car this was. I don't know much car terminology, but I knew it was a Corvette. A red Corvette. I hopped back in the car and, after glancing at my directions one more time, took off.

* * *

**Yeah, it's short, but it's midnight. Plus, I'm burning through my list of ideas a lot faster than I thought I would. I have 11 bullets, and I've already used four and a half of them. So until I reach a certain point I might have a couple of short chapters. TOO BAD!**

**FUN FACT: When Annabeth noticed the dude from the library looked like Marv, I had realized it at the same moment. I did that by accident! That's how I pictured the guy, but only when he said his line I realized he was kind of like someone working at Customer Service, and when I opened up my story and went to chapter six, I had described Marv exactly the same way and given him the same line. LOL!**

**ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything having to do with Google. Or Staples (again). I don't think I have to mention WiFi, but what the hey! Let's give our special friend a shout-out for having TWO capital letters in a single word! Yay!**

* * *

**QUOTES THAT OCCURRED DURING THE PROCESS OF AUTHORIZATION (that's not what the word means, but I don't freakin' care):**

**"Calculator. You just sit there. Mocking me. Well, I have news for you. I can do this without you. That's right. I CAN FUNCTION WITHOUT YOU! MWAHAHA! Okay! Ignoring you! Question one. 9 times negative five-eighteenths. Uh ... oh, no. Can I change that to a decimal? That would help ... oh, shoot. It repeats. NO! This can't be! *looks over at calculator* Oh, shut up. Uggh! Fine. But just this once! *uses calculator* There. 2.5. Thank you. But you will not remember this moment. That's right. On + Clear - MWAHAHAHA! MEMORY ERASED! YESS! I HAVE SUCCEEDED! I WILL DOMINATE! Okay, next question. Pi times half of 32 plus 47.49 ... oh, why'd you have to bring PI into this? *looks over at calculator* I hate you."**

**"I've never heard a song say 'pants' so many times."**


	10. The Ransom Note

**I had this idea in my head back when I was writing chapter 2, and then I had planned it into my story. The thing is, it would've been back at camp and the note would've been on her cabin door. Oh, you'll see. But then I forgot, and I had her go into New York City, and then I was going to do it again when she returned to camp, but I forgot again! Blech. So now it's going here. The revival of my original idea! Woohoo!**

**REVIEW REPLY TIME! AnnabethIsTheBest: Actually, the name Dorothy _wasn't_ random. And awsomekelly, I would've chosen that name if your brother's was Sam (although I like Timothy better). I picked these names for two reasons: One, because I had just come back from watching a Wizard of Oz spoof. And two, both of those names have Greek origins, and they both mean something like "godly" or "having to do with gods". And since the story features the Greek gods, I just thought that it would be a nice little easter egg. Yes, I do my homework. Oh, and one more thing, awsomekelly - I _do _have more reviews than you. MWAHAHAH! greenplanet: Oh, don't worry, the stick IS important. In fact, I seriously can't wait to type its true purpose. You'll see. Kassandra-Anne-Smith: Thanks so much! audaciousinrush: Wow. THANK YOU! *gasp* Cookie? Warm ... soft ... chocolatey ... cookie? Can ... c-c-c-c-can ... can I have it? *makes puppy-dog face* pwease pwease pwease? It's okay, you can k ... k-k-k ... k-k-k-k-k *sister slaps me on back* _keep_ your cookie. And my computer's stupid, too. Hey, we've all been there. Well, not all of us, but the wiser, more-_experienced_ ones have. Yeah. That's what I'll go with.**

**And I'm aware that my previous chapter wasn't exactly the best. Sorry, folks, but it had to be done. It's actually a very important chapter, despite its tiny length.**

**And now, I shall end this lengthy A/N because you're probably getting bored. So let's get to it, then!**

* * *

**{NIGHT THREE}**

**APOV:**

_Okay, now I have to make a ... right._ I sighed. Why couldn't Athena be the goddess of maps?

_Wait. This road almost looks ... familiar._ Glancing back down at my directions, I was right at the end of the list of steps. I looked up.

There it was! _DOG DAB A SANETHA HOTEL - THE BEST HOTEL_ _IN OHIO!_ Relieved, I pulled into the parking lot. Time to confront Grover.

I hopped out of the car and into the hotel. I immediately realized it smelled like a dentist's office. It was a big lobby, with walls that completely matched the striped-and-brightly-colored carpet. There were a few couches and a coffee table with a lamp and a few magazines. At the back of the room was a large desk.

I approached the man standing behind the front desk. He was wearing a suit and tie, and his brown hair was neatly combed to one side. _A little formal for a check-in position at a hotel ..._ I thought.

The man looked up from the computer in front of him and managed a fake grin. "Can I help you?" he asked.

_What is that, the catchphrase of the week? _"Yes. Could you tell me which room Grover Underwood is staying in? He's my brother, and I really need to reach him. Family emergency."

The man narrowed his eyes. "Well, normally that would be against the rules ... but if you can show me some ID, then I guess I'll bend the rules for a ... pretty young blonde like yourself."

_Is he HITTING on me?_ "I ... well ... I'm so sorry, but I left my wallet at home with my mother."

The man began to turn back to his PC. "No, please!" I cried desperately. Irritated, he looked up.

"What?" he asked, although it sounded more like a statement.

"My mother! She's fallen ill! She really needs our help! All I need is a room number. Is that so bad? _Please?_ You wouldn't want to be responsible for causing her _death_ ... would you?"

That shook him. Befuddled, he began to stutter. Finally he managed, "I guess a room number wouldn't hurt ..." He typed in the name.

Suddenly he shot me a furious look. "Who do you think you are?"

He caught me off guard. "Uh ... what?"

"Are you trying to weasel me out of my money? What kind of scam are you pulling, young ma'am?"

I was terribly confused until I saw the computer screen. Grover's name was nowhere in the database. Either he was using an alias ... or he lied to me.

My face turned bright red. "No - I'm sorry - I thought he was -"

"Get out of my hotel." I could tell he was struggling to keep his temper under control. Obediently, not wanting any more trouble, I turned around and left.

During the walk back to the car, I wondered what this meant. Grover had no reason to be using a fake name. He had never been in trouble with the mortals, really - not like Percy, anyway. Why would _he _try to hide his identity?

_He wouldn't,_ I realized. _Unless he's hiding from me. It's either that, or he tricked me. He never went to that hotel. He went there to throw me off track, then as soon as he hung up he turned right around and went somewhere else._

I had arrived back at my Corvette. I was just about to get in when I noticed a piece of paper tucked under my windshield wipers. Curious, I removed it.

The note was written with letters cut out of magazines. _How retro can you get?_ I thought to myself. As I began to read, my hand was perfectly steady, but it began to quiver slightly as I continued ...

* * *

**YoUR FriEnD Is mINE nOw**

**iF yOU eVeR WaNT tO SeE HIm aGaIN,**

**COmE tO PoweLl, wYOMinG on tHE wiNTeR SoLstICe**

**And bRiNG a WEaPoN**

**GOoD lUcK - yOU'lL neEd iT.**

* * *

_"A ransom note? Seriously? Echidna's nuts!"_ Once again, Percy's voice sounded in my head. I was missing him so much _I_ was becoming a Seaweed Brain - literally. Well, almost. But mind-Percy was right. Why would Echidna leave a ransom note?

Confused, dazed, and oh so tired, I got back in the car and pulled out of the parking lot, thinking about everything that didn't make sense. Riptide. I still hadn't figured that out. Why hadn't it returned to Percy? And then how did Echidna get it? Where was it now?

Percy loved me. At least _that_ was positive. Although, every time I thought about it my heart sank a bit lower. _He was finally going to confess, and now I may never see him again._

Had Chiron sent out a quest? He might have. He originally said he was going to.

Did camp know about all of this? They must've noticed Percy's absence. What about Nico? Is he okay?

So many questions. So much confusion.

I checked the clock in the car. It was after one in the morning. At least that explained why the man started out upbeat and turned out exhausted.

I couldn't pay for a hotel, so I just pulled into a random parking lot, took the keys out of the ignition, locked all the doors and closed all the windows, and fell asleep in my seat.

* * *

**So, there you have it. Thanks, awsomekelly, I have taken note of those errors and fixed them. I knew I was forgetting something, too, but I didn't have the slightest idea as to what it might have been. Well, now I know. Review, and check out my new story, too! It's a PJO/Wizard of Oz crossover. Check my profile! Okay, this is sounding like an ad now. Goodbye!**

**LAST MINUTE DISCLAIMER (awsomekelly informed me I forgot one, so here it is) : Hey, that looks like a frowny face. Well, although I guess I kinda own Dog Dab a Sanetha, since I just made that up (or rather, just took a phrase I thought was true and spelled it backwards - THE EASTER EGG IS REVEALED!), I do not own PJO. Waa!**


	11. Theft

**Hey, boys and girls! Welcome to another episode of - Therapy for the Psychopathic! Who's up first? *manager walks into room, whispers in my ear* Uh, huh ... uh huh ... WHAT? THAT DOESN'T START FOR ANOTHER HOUR? Get - get out of -**

**_***HANG IN THERE, GUYS.***_**

**Hey, welcome back for another exciting chapter of Desperation! This episode marks the start of the dreaded - _pause for dramatic effect -_ CALAMITY COUNTDOWN. Heheh, I just thought of that title now. The big dial is currently at the number 5 right now, meaning that's there's only FIVE chapters left! That's right. I told you at one point that I have a specific number of chapters in mind. Well, that number is 15, and it's fast approaching. We're slowly winding down to the end, and that's when things get all switcheroo and I start book two! Mwahahahaha!**

**OOH! That's my JAM! Uh huh, uh huh - oh, what? Oh. Sorry. I heard the Andy Griffith Show theme song from upstairs. You know, the ... whistle ... thing ...? Yeah ... I need a life. Shoot! Easily distracted, remember? I got off topic! Now I'm going to type APOV: before I get even more off track.**

* * *

**APOV: (See? There. I did it. Oh, sorry.)**

"Help me, Annabeth!" Grover screamed.

He was chained to a prison cell wall. The poor satyr was pretty banged and bumped and bruised and blooded and, well, almost any other b-starting adjective you can think of. Except beautiful, of course. He cowered in the corner, desperately trying to escape the monster that stood before him.

The Chimera.

"Help me!"

The Chimera attacked.

Suddenly I was gone. How did that happen? Where was I?

I was staring at sky. Through glass.

I was in a car.

* * *

**{DAY FOUR}**

I sat there for a few minutes, trying to decipher my strange dream. It wasn't ... interactive like regular demigod dreams. It hadn't seemed real. So it was just a regular dream. But what had caused it?

Almost automatically, my head turned to the ransom note residing in the passenger seat. I picked it up and read it. Then I read it again. And again. And again. But my eyes just couldn't change the words on the paper.

_"Your friend is mine now,"_ read the first line.

Something in my mind snapped. _What if she meant GROVER?_

Ever since I had first read that note, I had assumed Percy was the 'friend' the note spoke of. But what if he wasn't? What if Grover really _had _been planning on staying here, but Echidna snatched him before he could check in? What if _Grover_ was the 'friend'?

Now I had _another_ problem. When I arrived at Powell, whose butt would I be saving? I mean, Grover was my friend, too, but Percy was my number one priority at the moment. Would I be walking right into a distraction?

I decided the risk was too great. I started toward Powell. It didn't take long, however, for me to realize that I didn't know how to get there.

After a few minutes of driving, I stumbled across the _Dog Doog a Snodiesop_, another hotel, whose sign read _FREE ONLINE ACCESS 24/7!_ I almost laughed at the name because it was so weird-sounding, although I admit it had a good ring to it. Percy would have loved it. I instantly parked and ran through the revolving door.

Instantly I knew I came to the right place. After asking the concierge where I could use the internet and following her instructions, I marveled at the site before me. It was a giant room, rows of computers up against every wall. There was a table in the center of the room, surrounded by computers as well. There was a TV screen up in the right-hand corner broadcasting Fox News. Currently they were reporting something about the effects of Hurricane Earl.

I found a vacant PC and did what I needed to do. After using the free internet (thank the gods THEY actually _provided_ the computers) until I printed what I needed, I was ready.

But after taking one look at my step-by-step instructions, I knew I was in for a long trip. I had to staple together six pages. Six.

When I was headed back out the door, I heard it.

_"Early this morning, New Yorker Dwyn Fredrickson woke up, left her home to go to work, and discovered her car was gone! Bob, tell us more about this."_

As soon as I heard the word 'car' I knew I was in trouble. Turning around, I saw a well-dressed news reporter standing in front of a house my mind deemed extremely familiar ... I froze in my tracks to hear the words, _"Thank you, Evangelia. Dwyn tells that her car was having trouble with the trunk throughout the past few days, saying she 'could never get it to close properly'. She had locked her car inside the garage when she went to sleep, along with the keys. How the thief managed to enter the locked garage is still to be discovered, as there is no sign of forced entry. The car is a red Corvette."_ A picture of the car came up on the screen. Underneath it was a licence plate number and a phone number. _"If anyone spots this car or this licence plate, call the phone number on your screen immediately. The culprit may not even be in New York anymore, so no matter where you are, keep an eye out. More details are to come throughout the afternoon and we will be following this story throughout the week. Back to you, Evangelia."_

_"Thank you, Bob."_ The shot went back to the woman, who started to tell about a murder down in Columbus. My instincts took over, and I ran out of that hotel as fast as I could. I unlocked the car, opened the driver's side door, hit the lock button, tossed the keys in, and closed the door. Then I ran the heck out of there.

Unfortunately, this was no NYC anymore, and there weren't any sidewalks. Frustrated, I came up with a plan. It was so stupid, so idiotic, so Percy-esque.

I didn't care.

I ran out onto the road and sprawled out flat, closing my eyes.

My ears were about to fall off, the skidding tires were so loud.

From just a few feet in front of me I heard car doors open, then close. "What the -"

Suddenly I felt fingers on my temple. I tried my hardest not to move. "She's alive!" a male voice cried.

Then I felt his lips on mine. His breath was filling my mouth. Then they were gone, and then they were back, and so was the breath.

_Gods, Percy would hate me for this. I'm so sorry, Seaweed Brain._

That was enough. As soon as he pulled away, I started to fake cough. I heard a few gasps. Finally, I opened my eyes. There was a young man, maybe 25, leaning over me. He smiled. "Are you okay?" he asked me.

Before I could respond I heard another voice, this one female: "We just found her conked out on the parkway! You had to blow air into her so she could BREATHE! Do you THINK she's okay?"

The man stood up, revealing a young, blonde woman, who appeared to be the same age as the man. She was wearing a blue and white T-shirt and jeans. Her straight hair came just barely past her shoulders. The man had lengthy, scraggly brown hair; stubble on his face (I'll be washing my mouth out with soap for weeks); a brown, overly-large sweatshirt; and jeans. Why does everyone wear jeans?

They both lent a hand down to help me up. I have to admit, I played my part well. When I grabbed their hands, I let them do the lifting. Once they had me upright, my 'knees buckled' and I fell down again. Once I was up, I leaned on the girl until I 'could stand again'. And when I started walking, I made sure I slowly hobbled along.

After I reassured them a billion times that I was fine, they told me they were going to drive me back to a hotel a few minutes away. _This is my chance,_ I thought. I felt terrible about what I was going to do, but I had no choice. This was for Percy.

As soon as we approached the car, I hopped into the driver's seat and gunned the gas pedal. The metal hit the floor as I sped away, leaving the poor unsuspecting couple far behind.

* * *

**Grr! When I was writing this, after Annabeth woke up I wanted to write the disclaimer, so I did, and then I kept wanting to write in present tense again! It took me forever to convert back, and I think the fact that I'm reading _The Hunger Games_ by Suzanne Collins had something to do with it. Sorry if the news people sounded stupid, but I'm no Jim Gardner. I bet only about 2.76% of you will know who that is, but frankly I don't care.**

**DISCLAIMER: For some reason I felt like putting this one at the bottom. Whatever. Right now I'm sneaking into Rick Riordan's mansion with my wand. I climb up the stairs ... BAM! I slam the bedroom door, knocking it right off its hinges. There is Rick. I hold up my wand. "AVADA KADAVRA!" I expect a stream of green light to shoot from the tip, knocking Rick off his seat, automatically giving ME the rights to PJO. But no. Nothing happens. My undying faith to Rick has prevented the spell from achieving its initial goal. I don't own PJO. Rick stands up and gives me a lecture about how I also don't own the Andy Griffith Show, Fox News, or The Hunger Games, either. "But the Imperius curse made them hand over the rights!" I protest. Rick lectures me about how I'm living in his world now, and in his world, the only powers that exist are god powers, so until I walk on over to J. K. Rowling's mansion, this wand is useless. I am furious. We hear a rushing sound. And water comes flooding from his bathroom. Rick jumps out the window and calmly walks away. I drown in my own jealousy.**


	12. The News Broadcast

**Mmm ... I freakin' love Rice Krispies ... mmm ... _mmm_! Aw, yeah, this is - _what the - you turned on the - WHAT THE ****_ -**

***free-form jazz comes on, followed by a black screen***

_*****TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. PLEASE STAND BY. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.*****_

**Hey everyone! We're ba-ack! The Calamity Countdown is going full-throttle, and we only have four chapters left! So let's get going, shall we? Sorry it's been so long, but my life's been pretty .. stressful lately. Then my internet died just before I could save this - AGAIN, - and it stayed out for about a week. Now I'm finally back online, and I'm ready to go. This is where I would normally try to entertain you with a totally pointless A/N before the chapter, but I'm drawing a mental blank. So let's just skip all that and start the show!**

**DISCLAIMER: Be happy for Disclaimer! My good old friend has returned to the top, where it is more likely to catch your eye! Just like I'm trying to catch the fish swimming in that lake below. There's one that I've been trying to nab for weeks: the Perlius Jarlem Octopentapal, or PJO for short. Normally I'm against fishing, but the PJO is so rare only one person has ever owned it, and that person is Rick Riordan. I plan on being the second. Wait! I got a bite! I think it's PJO! Come on! WOW, this thing is strong! Reel it in, reel it in ... come on, lucky ducks ... what? WHAT? IT BROKE MY LINE! IT BROKE MY LINE! I SEE YOU, PJO! DON'T THINK YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME! I SEE YOU SWIMMING AWAY FROM ME! I'LL GET YOU SOMEDAY! I'LL OWN YOU SOMEDAY!**

**But for now, I'm afraid, I don't own PJO.**

* * *

**{DAY FOUR}**

**APOV:**

Things were going fine until I remembered.

I'd remembered the directions. I'd folded them up and stashed them in my pockets before I'd jumped into the street. I was already on page two when I caught my mistake.

I'd thought I remembered everything I needed. And I had.

Except the stick.

My idiotic brain left the stick back in the stolen car. And now it was locked inside, and I no longer had the keys. I'd left a piece of evidence. When they found that car, they'd see the stick inside, and when they heard about the _second_ car I'd taken, just a few feet away from where the first one was parked, the police would instantly put 2 and 2 together. And if they tested the stick for fingerprints, and they were able to match it with a description of my face ... they'd know who I was.

I'd be an outlaw.

In fact, I _was_ an outlaw. Already. Gods, what would Athena say?

I cursed in ancient Greek as I drove. The things I do for Percy. Well, at least I was feeling better, so I didn't need the stick to walk with anymore.

But after a bit more driving, I couldn't take it anymore. A few minutes after seeing the _Welcome to Illinois!_ sign, I decided I needed a break. I pulled over beside a rest stop and walked in for some food and a bottle of water. I had found a total of $28 in the car, and I had every intention of using it.

Entering the rest stop, I saw it looked a bit old-school. The entire place was one big cube. The walls, ceiling, and floor were checkered in red and white squares. The tables were red, and the chairs and booths were all black. At the front of the rest stop there was a counter for purchasing food and drinks. Not much, but I was grateful.

I approached the counter. _I don't have time to eat it here. I have to keep moving, so I'll eat it in the car._ I grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and pulled my money out of my pocket.

But before I could order, the news caught my attention for the second time that day. _"The case of the stolen Corvette continues, but a new development shows how the thief got away with it. Bob?"_

Once again, I was paralyzed. I knew I should have been running, but a part of me was curious. How much had they discovered? However, it was the part of me that was petrified with fear that glued me to my spot. _"Earlier today, a car was stolen from inside a locked garage."_ After that first line, a million thoughts sparked inside of me. I remembered the same man saying something like that earlier, but this was the first time it had struck me as odd. The garage hadn't been locked when I had stolen the car. The door had slid up to the ceiling with ease. Great. Yet another question to add to my library.

Fortunately, this one was answered almost instantaneously: _"Or at least, that's what victim Dwyn Fredrickson had thought. Now she knows otherwise. Her fourteen year old son Daniel had returned from a friend's home late at night, and he entered through the garage."_

The scene cut to a teenage boy. He had black, wavy hair, and his face was covered with red spots. It brought back memories of an old comic I had seen in the paper once where the punch line was, "No, Timmy, the Tooth Fairy won't be visiting you anymore. But I'll be here for you. I'm the Pimple Fairy!" He wore a black T-shirt with a large skull design towards his right shoulder. It was a head shot, but I did _not_ want a closer look at the Grim Reaper's nightmare case of acne.

_"I guess I just wasn't thinking straight,"_ Daniel told the camera. _"It was late, and I must have just forgotten to lock the door behind me."_

He took a breath to say something else, but the clip was cut off, and the shot went back to Bob. _"So at least we've solved one mystery. But the questions still remain: Who and where is the culprit? Back to you, Evangelia."_

The camera returned to Evangelia in the news headquarters, but she wasn't ready yet. A woman with her hair in a ponytail and purple glasses was leaning over the desk, whispering something in her ear. She handed the reporter a few papers and ran off the screen. Evangelia quickly skimmed through, and her eyes widened.

___"Breaking news! Our car thief has struck again, and this time she's left behind some interesting evidence."_

Again, the scene shifted, but this time it was at the _Dog Doog a Snodiesnop_ - where I had been earlier that day.

The camera panned the scene as a different woman took over: _"Just hours ago, a young couple nearly hit a teenage girl lying in the street near the Dog Doog a Snodiesnop hotel. For a moment she wasn't breathing, and the couple helped her towards their car. Suddenly the girl jumped into the car and drove away, leaving the couple behind."_

The man who had tried to save me earlier appeared on screen. _"I thought I was trying to save her. But she just turned out to be a scamming, lying cheapskate!"_

Ouch. That one hurt.

The woman continued. _"Upon further investigation, the first stolen car was found in the hotel parking lot. Its only new contents: a three-foot tree branch lying in the backseat."_

Then another picture was shown on the screen, and this one a bit more familiar.

_"The blonde, sixteen year old girl who has been identified as Annabeth Chase could be dangerous. Keep__ -_"

I cursed, this time in English. I turned to see the man behind the counter staring at me like I was a three-headed, four-armed, transparent chimpanzee. He reached to grab me, but I ducked. I tossed five dollars onto the counter and snatched my two water bottles.

And then I ran.

People were standing up now, grabbing, reaching, trying to snag me, but I was too fast. I made my way to the door, winding, twisting, dodging.

That all changed when two employees closed the door of the rest stop and locked it. They stood in front of it, arms crossed, staring right at me. They swiveled the sign on the door, so now from the outside it read CLOSED.

People crowded around me.

"You there!" called one of the workers.

I was trapped.

* * *

**And that ends chapter 12! The Calamity Countdown is advancing further. Only three chapters left! Chapter 13 should be up by Sunday. It might even be up tomorrow, seeing as how it's Election Day and there's no school. Until then, have a chocolatey life!**


	13. Descending

**Gah. I'm terrible at deadlines. Sorry. Well, in my defense, my computer was down for almost a week, so that caused a delay. But still. My apologies. :( Anyway -**

**HONK HONK! The Calamity Countdown is rolling along, and there are only THREE chapters left! Wait - hold on a sec - _Jimmy! How's it coming along? Good?_ Oh, what? Sorry. I just wanted to see how my new guy is handling the job. After a recent string of events, I had to fire my last guy - I STILL WANT REVENGE, _TOMMY_! - so now I'm trying someone new. Hmmmm - there's something I was about to type, but now I don't remember what it was. Ah, well. More ice cream for me. _Mamma-mia!_ Oh, yeah, sing it, Mario! Wait - what was that squeak? Weird.**

**Oh! Now I remember! APOV. It bothers me. How is it pronounced? Letter by letter: A-P-O-V? Or, how I usually end up saying it, A-POV? Like 'pov' being a syllable, with an 'a' in front. A-POV. Percy. Is it P-P-O-V or P-POV? Nah, P-POV just sounds weird. I guess it really only works with Annabeth. HEY! Annabeth and Athena both start with A, and Percy and Poseidon both start with P! WOAH! And the letters of "athena" are all in "annabeth"! And the letters of "ares" are in "clarisse"! HAHAHA! Poor Percy. He don't have his father's letters. Too bad. Toooo bad.**

**DISCLAIMER: No! Nooo! I don't want to disclaim! I don't want to! I don't! Alas, the platypus snuck up behind me and slapped a helmet on my head. Now he's controlling me. I - don't own - PJO - orr - Yu - Gi-Oh - or Grease - or even - _nooo - _Mario. THERE! I said it. Happy? HAHA! Two Phineas and Ferb references in one disclaimer! OWNED! Wait a sec - HA! That's funny! Owned. Co-in-cy-dense! You know, seeing as how it was a disclaimer - ah. Never mind.**

* * *

**{DAY FOUR}**

**APOV:**

_Percy._

I felt threatened, exposed, vulnerable. And I couldn't help thinking of Percy. After all, those same emotions stir inside me whenever he's around.

_Percy. I wonder how he's feeling right now?_ He was locked in a prison with a crazy reptile lady as a jailguard. Who could blame _him_ for feeling threatened and vulnerable, especially without his beloved sword?

Had I been acting selfish this whole time? Although everything I did was because of him, for him, about him - could it be possible that my misery came from my _own_ problems? Heck, look at where I was - I was a CARJACKER, for Zeus's sake.

_Look at what Percy does to me. _He was making me act ridiculously. Outlandishly. Foolishly. I guess it's crazy what desperation can do to people.

These thoughts, along with about a billion others, swirled inside of me as I measured the odds of my escaping.

People all around me. Two guys guarding the door. What chance did I have?

Instinctively, I reached for my dagger. I held it up in front of me and gave a menacing glare at the crowd around me.

A few people gave me confused looks. Glancing over at the employees guarding the door made of glass, I noticed one whisper to another - "Jack, is that girl wielding a _spork_?" I silently cursed the Mist.

"Yeah, and like it's a weapon, too," the other replied. "Think she's cracked?"

"Who knows? But I hope not. If she's already snapped, who knows what she would do? She could be a real threat - to us, to the customers, even to herself."

"You're right. Let's bring 'er down." They started to advance toward me, grim looks on their faces. Obviously they hadn't been planning on catching a criminal when they clocked into work today.

Remembering that celestial bronze can't harm regular people, rendering my knife useless, I tucked it back into my belt.

_Bring it on, mortals._

I quickly scanned the room, searching for a weakness in the crowd. _There._ I was only a few feet away from a table, with only two people in front of it. The two people looked on in horror as I leaped toward the table. They could barely get out of the way in time as I dove, landing underneath it. I searched the nearby ground. _Ah!_ A plastic knife, dropped during a meal and never discarded. Ketchup was still slightly smeared across its white blade. Cutting a sandwich or burger, maybe? No matter. It was beautiful.

I grabbed it and reached for the edge of the circular table. Tightening my grip, I pulled it back until I was pushing rather than pulling, the table now behind me. I shoved it away and stood. A few screams echoed through the building as I brandished my newly-found sword.

Admittedly, I must have looked pretty wild - and not in a good way. My dirty blonde hair was now literally dirty, standing up in every which way. My clothes were filthy, my jeans torn in a few places. My breathing was heavy, my chest rising in and out rapidly. My eyes were fiery, and my mouth was curled into a snarl.

"_Nobody calls me crazy,_" I rasped.

_Woah - was that ... me? _I sounded so ... different. I guess I hadn't been getting enough water or something, because my voice came out as barely more than a dry whisper. I can't even be sure the guards heard me.

I cleared my throat. "BACK OFF!" I screamed, but my voice cracked and the word 'off' was deadened. I slashed my knife around like a deadly weapon, and people started to step away from the crazy maniac wielding a piece of silverware. One person in the back said something about blood, amping up the fear factor in the room, and for the first time in my life I thanked the gods that someone liked ketchup.

"Everybody out!" Jack called, ushering people their direction. The other employee unlocked the door again and held it open, and the crowd of innocent customers eagerly flocked toward the door. In seconds the entire mob had emptied out. Quickly, the employee closed the door and locked it again. Then they turned back to me.

Giving an icy cold glare to the two rest stop employees, slashing my knife around like female edition of Zorro, making absolutely ridiculous grunting noises like a kung fu master would - "YA! WA! HE-YAH! WAAA! YAA!" - slowly but gracefully - okay, not exactly gracefully, but whatever. Anyway, doing all of the above, I advanced on the door. But of course, Jack and the other employee (whose name tag read _Gale_, as I now noticed) had to get in my way _again_ - did you really think it would be that easy?

As I samurai-approached them, I really got a good look, and it didn't look good for me. Both of the men - maybe twenty? twenty-five? - were pretty well built, but in this case, buff = bad. Gale had skin the color of honey mixed with mud - let's just say "the Stoll brothers" and leave it at that - and brown hair that stood up in all directions like Yugi's. Jack had smooth, black hair gelled down to his scalp, and he looked like he belonged in a 21st century remake of _Grease._ Both wore a customary uniform: an indigo tee shirt with a name tag and black pants. I took all of this in in a second, and then there they were in front of me.

Gale reached for me (which is a polite way of saying he thrust his fist at my face trying to kill me), but I was too fast for him. I ducked, and before he was even finished with his swing at me I swung my right leg out, hitting him in the ankle in just the right way to contrast perfectly with his building momentum, knocking him off balance. One nudge and he fell to the floor between Jack and me.

Jack shot me a death glare. I beckoned to him, holding out my hand palm-up and moving my fingers like you would under a dog's snout. He took this as a threat (which is exactly how I wanted him to take it), and tried to approach me. My leg swung out again (over Gale, who was just collecting himself on the floor), but Jack was ready. He dodged my attack. Or so he thought. I had wanted him to do this, and as he swerved, his foot slid under Gale's chest (who was now lifting himself to rejoin the fight), and when Jack tried to take a step, his leg caught on Gale and he went down, crushing Gale.

This was my chance. I ran to the door and fiddled with the handle. It was locked. Then I saw the keyhole - the _empty_ keyhole. _What idiot locks a door from the inside with a key?_

I answered my own question: _The kind who wants to keep a thief trapped inside._

_Yeah, but who puts a keyhole on the INSIDE of a door -?_ I snapped myself out of the little internal debate I was having, because time was running out. Then I had an idea. A Percy- or Grover-kind-of-idea.

Tossing my plastic weapon, I ran to a table and grabbed one of the chairs. I struggled to lift it over my head, and when I reached the door again, I threw it at the glass. As soon as the chair left my hands, I instinctively brought my arms up to guard my face, preparing for the shards of glass to fly. As it was a glass door, I expected it to shatter, like in the movies.

So what just _had_ to happen?

The chair rebounded off of the glass, clattering harmlessly to the floor and sliding to my feet. Darn. I guess movie magic wasn't on my side today.

I was still standing there trying to think of a better plan when I heard groaning from behind me. Turning, I saw Jack and Gale getting back up, preparing to rejoin the battle. So I changed my approach a bit. I grabbed the chair again and slammed it down on Jack's head, like they do in pro wrestling. The chair didn't break (another classic film myth busted), but Jack immediately slumped back down to the floor. Gale stood, but just when I thought there was going to be a fistfight, he backed off, arms raised, retreating toward the wall.

Voice still raspy, I told him: "_Nice choice._"

Gale gulped and nodded.

I knelt down beside Jack, who I now noticed was unconscious. _Weakling._ I reached into his own pockets and searched him until I found the keys. After fiddling with them for a bit, I found the right one, and unlocked the door. I grabbed two of the water bottles, but before leaving, I turned back to Gale.

"Listen up. I was _never here_. If I find out you told the cops about this, I'll come back and -"

Only slightly missing their cue, I began to hear police sirens in the distance. Panic set in, and I rushed toward the car. I threw the water inside and hopped in after. The keys went into the ignition and the engine revved. I was outta there.

But as I pulled out of the parking lot, I found that I wasn't out of trouble yet. I could see the sirens from around the street corner, headed this way. Only taking a slight glance at my directions beforehand, I got back on my route - which was thankfully _AWAY_ from the crazy cops - and floored it. I sped through the streets, dodging cars and people, swerving around turns. Probably the first time this hicktown had ever experienced a car chase with a raging criminal.

Although I expected fear to elevate as I saw the police rounding that last bend behind me and gaining ground fast, it was buried underneath a heaping mound of adrenaline. I had never felt so alive. It was like being six again, eating an entire chocolate cake after sprinkling sugar and sprinkles on top with five cups of pudding for dessert and a milkshake with whipped cream to top it off. The rush was unbelievable. I cackled, enjoying the sensation.

Somewhere along the line I heard a voice holler "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!" It took me a few seconds to register that _I_ had been the one who shouted it, and when I did, I drove even faster. Glancing quickly at the speedometer, I was surprised to notice that I was going a whopping 108 miles per hour.

It surprised me even more to realize that _I didn't care._

All feelings were gone. Sure, I was aware that I was zooming through the streets of Illinois, an outlaw, on the run from the cops. I knew that my boyfriend was being held captive by a monster, and that by now anything could be happening to him. I knew his best friend was also probably looking for him, most likely a state or two ahead of me.

But _I didn't care._ About anything. I felt no emotion. I could hear my pulse pounding through my skull, my breathing was heavy, my heart hammering away like a hummingbird's after a glazed donut. My appearance was worse than ever. And yet my eyes were practically glowing with excitement. And only at that moment did I realize I was giggling. And I was shaking. Violently. I'm surprised my hands could keep a steady grip on the steering wheel.

_TURN! Swerve, dodge, WATCH OUT - **TURN!** Oh, Hades, they're gaining. Faster faster FASTER!_

Tears were streaming down my face, but I wasn't sad. Psychotic laughter was escaping my lips, but I wasn't amused. Vibrations took over my body, but I wasn't scared.

No emotion.

No emotion at all.

**_What is happening to me?_** The question sounded in my mind, but I didn't feel the need for an answer. A billion other thoughts were in my head as well, but they were shaking, swirling, like a snowglobe on a roller coaster, like a pile of paper in a tornado. Nothing made sense.

The cop sirens were gone. I hadn't even noticed. I'd been operating the car mechanically, not even noticing what I was doing. I lifted my foot on the gas, but only a little - never letting the needle go under 60, just to be safe.

We were passing by trees. Lots of them. _Might make a good hiding spot if I need it,_ I thought - my first real thought in a while.

And then, through the window of a car I was passing, I saw the last person I expected to see.

Grover.

* * *

**There. You wanted a long chapter, here you go. Worried about Annabeth yet? You _should_ be.**

**TWO CHAPTERS LEFT! TWO CHAPTERS LEFT!**

_**-rainingtearsofchocolate was here. That's right. Right here. So now you can just back away.**_


	14. Delusional

**Hey, my peeps! The end is near! Only two chapters left, according to my Calamity Countdown speedometer. But you know, there's something that always bothers me. Whenever I ask you to do something in my reviews, you never do it. In chapter 3, I asked for you to suggest a chapter title. Only AnnabethIsTheBest did. In chapter 5, I asked if anyone knew the song I referenced. I would understand if you didn't know the song; you could've just typed "Sorry, I don't know that one," at the end of your review. That's all it would have taken. But no one responded. And then in chapter - humph. That's it. Oh, you get the point. So, why do reviewers do this? It irks me - almost as much as the work irks! I mean, if I'm supposed to have supreme control over the earth someday, how could I fail at cyber mind control? I guess I just won't rule all. I'm different. I'm one of the only people I know who would turn down the opportunity for world domination if it was given to me for free. Seriously, if I took over the world, it would be Heck on Earth. Trust me.**

**MMMMM ... oh, that's some goooood chocolate. Oh, I'm _LOVIN'_ it! Hey, what the - _JIMMY_! DUDE! YOU JUST GOT _PEANUT BUTTER_ IN MY _CHOCOLATE_! AUGGH! Are you ASKING to get fired? GET OUT OF HERE, GIVE ME TIME TO GRIPE! I have to have a talk with you later. Shoo, shoo! *turns back to chocolate* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

***sniff sniff* *starts bawling* *half an hour later***

**Get over it, RToC. It's okay. It'll be okay. Wait a sec - *leaves room for a minute, comes back with more chocolate* Okay, I'm good. *smack smack* Well, I'm in a referencey mood today. I've already made two pretty good references, both in the second paragraph. They're - you know what? I'm about to test you. You heard my speech. Now guess that reference! Hey, that sounds like it could be the name of a game show. _Welcome toooo ... GUESSSS thaaaaat REFERENCCE!_**

**DISCLAIMER: Who's playing first? You, Sid? Okay. Good. If you can guess the reference, I don't have to disclaim. What? Do you get a hint? No, no you don't. There. I've made my reference. You have ten seconds. GO! Come on ... I'm COUNTING on you here! GO SID! What do you mean, I never said the reference? The "no, no you don't" thing! You don't - WHAT? TIME IS UP? THAT'S NOT FAIR! Ughh! Fine. I don't own PJO. THERE! I disclaimed ... heh. Heh. Disclaim ... deh deh ... deh deh deh disssssssclame-uh! Disck-ck-ck-ck-CLAIM!**

**Sid, stop looking at me like that.**

**Seriously, stop it. Now.**

* * *

**{DAY FOUR}**

**GPOV:**

_Gotta find Percy._

I was driving down the road somewhere in Illinois. After I'd ditched the _Dog Dab a Sanetha_, I'd felt overcome with guilt. What was that, the third time I had lied to Annabeth in the past week? The fourth? Who could tell?

I had stayed at Norom Sandhice, the hotel I had stopped at after fleeing _Sanetha_, until noon the next day. I just couldn't get myself to leave; I felt too horrible. Finally I sucked it up for Percy's sake and tried to face my fears. I was an honorary member of the _Council of Cloven Elders_, for crying out loud! I was Pan's heir! A Lord of the Wild! A hero to nature spirits everywhere! _I can't crack now! I'm at the top of my game! Just because I betrayed her doesn't mean I'm …._

Wait a sec.

Betray?

Betrayal?

I betrayed?

I _betrayed_ Annabeth?

How - how COULD I?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

_Woah, woah, Grover. Get a grip. I didn't BETRAY her. If she had gone to find Percy, she would have been too distracted to think about the task at hand, and she'd have let her guard down, making her vulnerable to attack. Echidna would have easily brought her down. I'm doing the right thing here._

I still felt guilty.

I was still deep in thought, pondering if what I had done was wrong or not, when -

_HOOOOOOOOOOOOONK! HOOOOOOOOOOOONK!_

_What the -_

I leaned my head out the window to look at the person in the car next to me. "Hey, jeez, what's the problem here?"

Considering I was in a truck and this jerk was in a small car, I had to twist and turn my head to see the driver.

And when I did, I got the surprise of a lifetime.

_HOOOOOOOOOOOONK! HOOOOOOONK!_

The car window rolled down.

"PULL OVER, GROVER!" called a female voice from inside.

_Oh, great._

Busted.

* * *

**APOV:**

I pulled over to the side of the road - thank the gods we weren't on the highway yet _- _and hopped out of the car immediately. Grover did the same, and I stormed over to him.

"_WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?"_ I screamed.

"Annabeth, I –"

"_WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?_"

"I –"

"No. No! You WEREN'T thinking!"

Before I knew what was happening, my hand was flying out in front of me, slapping Grover hard on his left cheek. He appeared stunned. "Annabeth … let me explain –"

"No! SHUT UP!"

I fell to my knees and leaned out over the ground. Tears flew from my eyes uncontrollably. How many times had I cried that day? I wanted to slap him again, but I also knew somehow that I had no right. Maybe Grover was as overcome by the experience as I was. Maybe he was desperate.

_Ha. Desperate. Aren't we all?_

"Annabeth."

The sound pierced through my skull. I looked up and saw … _Percy_.

"Annabeth?" he asked, Grover's voice coming clearly out of his mouth.

_What …?_

"Annabeth, it's okay," Percy said, in the voice that was not his own. "I'm here for you, Annabeth."

"No, you aren't," I replied softly. "You haven't been. As soon as I thought we could finally have peace …"

"Annabeth –"

"YOU GO AND GET YOURSELF KIDNAPPED!" I stood abruptly, too abruptly, and fell back down again. But not to the pavement. I fell into a memory. There I was on the sidelines, watching the scene play out once again …

The shore of Camp Half-Blood. Since Percy and I had started dating, it had become one of my favorite places. The ocean waves rocked back and forth as there, right in front of me, I lay next to Percy. My head rested on his shoulder, his arm around me as we relaxed together.

"Hey, Annabeth?" he asked me.

I opened my eyes. There he was. _Percy_. How I had missed that face. I was no longer a bystander to this flashback, I was a part of it. "Mmm?"

Percy looked uncomfortable, like he was trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say without it sounding awkward. "Uh … you don't … like Jacob, do you?"

I laughed. "_Jacob?_ He's nuts! Where did you get THAT idea?"

He shifted. "Uh … I don't know … I noticed you looking at him at breakfast … and he's always … showing off … around you …."

"Really? Really, Percy? Come on, you know me better than that. Your head may be full of seaweed, but his head is on an overdose of crazy glue and Smurfs."

Percy thought for a moment. "What was that supposed to mean?"

"I have no idea."

We both laughed. _Say it!_ I willed myself. _Say it!_

But it was a memory, not a fantasy. I wasn't in control.

"Percy, you're the one who's always there for me. Not Jacob, or anyone else in that camp. _You're_ my boyfriend. And I'll always have your back."

Percy smiled, then tilted his head down to kiss me.

_Yes! Yes!_

Then suddenly, I was back in Illinois, on the street, on my hands and knees.

"But you _didn't_ have my back," Percy reminded me from above. "You failed me."

"No! I didn't do anything wrong! I'm trying to get you back!"

The tears began again, worse than before. Each lurch brought another sob.

"You're right," I realized. "I _did_ fail you. I let Echidna take you, and I still haven't found you. I failed. You hate me."

"No, Annabeth." Percy leaned down to whisper in my ear: "_I love you._"

"But why?" I asked him.

No answer. "Percy?" I looked to where he was standing. Grover returned my gaze. "Annabeth … are you okay …?" he asked carefully. "I'm beginning to get a little worried about you."

"Where did Percy go?" I asked him. "He was right here…."

Grover shook his head slowly. "No … no, he wasn't."

"You LIE! He was here! I _SAW_ him! I _SPOKE_ to him!"

"It's just me, Annabeth. No one else was here."

_No! Percy …._

Grover stood frozen in his spot, watching me sob violently on the pavement.

He knelt down beside me. "Annabeth, I'm really getting worried about you. You're not making sense. If this is about how I left you at camp, you have to understand. I did it for Percy's own good. And for _your_ own good. Listen, you have to admit – even if you reach Percy in time, you'd be too focused on getting him out of there … you might not be as cautious as you should be. And now … now I'm positive. You shouldn't continue on. Go back to camp. You'll be safer there. I'm Percy's protector, I can do this."

"No, Grover," I whispered through my tears. Then a thought struck me. "You don't even know where to look, do you?"

Shakily, I got to my feet. My face felt rough and crisp and I quickly wiped my tears. "He's not in Cheyenne. Echidna moved him. He's in –"

"Powell, I know."

I felt like I'd been slapped in the face – which I guess was ironic, since _I_ had just slapped _Grover_ in the face. "How – how do _you_ know that?"

"Uh, do you forget? The _empathy _link," he replied, in the same tone of voice he'd use to tell me that water was wet. "I can talk to him, remember? I'm the one who found him in the first place – did you really think I couldn't do it again?"

I shook my head. I hadn't really thought about that.

Grover continued: "Which reminds me, when I contacted him yesterday, he had a message for you."

My eyes widened. "He … he did?"

"Yes. He told me to tell you that he's okay. He's surviving. Echidna's keeping him alive, for some reason. Occasionally they'll give him a small amount of water. He told me that they're in Powell. Echidna has a plan. She is depending on you coming to rescue him, so that she can fight you. Me, too, although he said she didn't seem as concerned for your appearance as for mine. Which is why he doesn't want you to come."

"Wha – what?"

"Annabeth, Echidna's plan _requires_ you to make it there. She _wants_ you. She _needs_ you. He doesn't know exactly what her plan is yet, but he knows that you're a key piece. If I go and you don't, she doesn't get you. She'll fail, and you can see him safely once we get back to camp."

"But Grover – I _have_ to see him!"

"Come on, Annabeth. Seeing the state you're in, I don't know if it'd be wise for you to rush into a battle. I think you're getting a bit _too_ desperate. You're starting to lose it."

I don't know why (somewhere down inside I must have known it was true), but this made me furious. "The _state_ I'm in? You think I'm going _INSANE_?"

"Annabeth, that's not fair –"

"_NOT FAIR?_ I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S _NOT FAIR_! How about finally hoping that the battles were over, that we could finally relax? How about finally settling in, and then someone I completely forgot about goes and snatches my boyfriend right from underneath my nose! It's _my fault_ he was taken. He was getting ready for our date! When he was late, I waited too long, and she got him! If I had been there, we could have overpowered her! But NO! I waited, and I lost him! I trusted him, and he disappeared! HOW'S _THAT_ FOR UNFAIR?"

There was a silence that lasted for a good few minutes. Finally, Grover muttered, "Wow."

I nodded sternly.

"How did you know?"

Grover had caught me off guard. "What?"

"How did you know that Percy had been taken to Powell? You can't – wait a second."

He ran back to his truck, and for a second I thought he was leaving me again. But then he came back with a piece of paper in his hands. "You got this, didn't you?"

I took the paper from him. _Wait a second … I've seen that before …._

"Hold on a sec." Running back to the car, I reached for the passenger-side seat, from where I grabbed the directions and hurriedly unfolded them. I grabbed a paper that wasn't a part of the packet and tossed the rest back inside. The pebbles on the road crunched under my feet as I handed the paper to Grover.

The sheets matched.

Grover had gotten a ransom note, too.

"The winter solstice," he noted. "That's in, what, four days?"

My eyes bugged. "Four days?"

He nodded. "We'll have to –"

Suddenly, from somewhere close, I heard something.

Grover cocked his head and looked me in the eyes. "Annabeth, are you growling? Now I'm _really_ worried about you."

I shook my head. "That wasn't me… at least, I don't _think_ it was –"

I had stopped because while I was talking, the growling had continued.

Grover's bottom lip began to quiver slightly, and his legs twitched softly. "Well, if it wasn't you, then …."

Another growl, coming from my left (and, since we were standing opposite each other, Grover's right). We both turned our heads toward the sound. Something was in the trees.

The beast leaped.

* * *

**Goodie goodie! Another cliffhanger! Man, what is it with me and one-line paragraphs? Whatever. This was one of the funnest (teehee!) chapters to write, and I'm proud of it. I made a couple of allusions within, and I wonder if any of you can find them. One of the allusions is extremely well hidden. Hehehe. I'm proud.**

**Oh, lookie-here! According to my Calamity Countdown Calendar, there's only ONE CHAPTER LEFT! My goal is to get it posted by the new year, but I don't know if I can manage that. I have a life, too, you know. Schoolwork and such. Still, it'll be faster than this one took, I guarantee. Well, see you whenever for the final chapter! :)**

**- FUZZY BUNNY!**


	15. Fighting

**THIS IS ... THE LAST CHAPTER! The Calamity Countdown has reached the end of its line, and so have we. This is the _The Kidnapped Hero Trilogy: Desperation _finale! To prepare yourself, think about everything we've covered so far. You see, this chapter reveals many of the answers to the mysteries that surround these characters, but it also raises many NEW questions to be answered in the next two installments. Are you prepared? I doubt it. Eh, I'm giving myself too much credit. Of course you're prepared. Ah, whatever.**

**And now, without further ado, _it's THE –_**

**DISCLAIMER: "Methinks thou doth protest too much." Or rather, to be more accurate, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Why am I quoting _Hamlet_? Because this is a metaphor, of course. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks," was said while Hamlet's mother Gertrude was watching a play. The woman in the play was defending herself against accepting responsibility for her ... erm ... _unsavory_ actions. That's when Gertrude spoke this famous line, which basically means that the woman would be much more believable if she didn't keep insisting her innocence – the more you try to deny it, the less people believe you. So how is this a metaphor, you ask? Because for about the fifteenth time in my not-so-professional career, I was about to deny the fact that I should disclaim. The quote shows me that you wouldn't believe me anyway, so I'll just disclaim right here and now – I don't own PJO or Animorphs. There. Now that I've given you a completely off-topic, out-of-nowhere, utterly pointless lesson on the history and meaning of a useless quote that you'll probably never see or use ever again in your life, we can move on.**

* * *

**{DAY FOUR}**

**GPOV:**

Suddenly, from somewhere close, I heard something.

_What the – is that –_

I cocked my head and locked eyes with Annabeth. "Annabeth, are you growling? Now I'm _really_ worried about you."

But she shook her head. "That wasn't me... at least, I don't _think_ it was –"

I gasped softly. The growling had continued, and Annabeth wasn't doing it. That's when I got nervous.

"Well, if it wasn't you, then ..."

Another growl, coming from my right. We both turned our heads toward the sound, toward the trees that lined this side of the road. A shadow lurked within. A figure.

The beast leaped through the threshold, heading right for my face. I ducked, and it sailed over my head, almost snagging my small horns. I spun around to face the creature.

The first thing I noticed were its heads. There were _two_, which Vd off from its neck. The dog looked a bit like a greyhound, but brown and long and snaky. I knew this dog. Annabeth did, too.

_Annabeth._ I turned my head to her. She looked completely confused. She looked at the dog in bewilderment, then stared at me with a look that clearly read, _Am I really **that** crazy?_

"No," I whispered. "That thing really _does_ have two heads. We know that dog. Think!"

She nodded slowly. The dog was preparing to launch itself again, and I was worried. _What if Annabeth can't defend herself? _"Oh!" she called suddenly. "Orthus!"

One of Orthus's heads snapped towards her. It gave an acknowledging nod followed by a throaty growl, as if it too recognized us and was not happy to see us.

_What can we do?_ I wondered. It was about to attack again. _We need a weapon, something big ... _BAM. The thought struck me just as suddenly as Annabeth's earlier slap. "Annabeth! Do you still have that stick?"

Orthus growled louder, as if to say, "Hey, you! Stop talking!"

"No! I left it back at the _Dog Doog a Snodiesnop_!"

"The WHAT? Never mind – go into the trees and find another one!"

"WHAT?" she echoed. "But what if there's another monster? And besides, I have my knife!"

_Ohhh, no. Sorry, but I am NOT trusting you with a dagger right now. _"Just do it!" I commanded. "I'll hold off Orthus!"

The dog barked, its patience long run thin. It ran at me, and with nothing to protect myself, I ran away. "ANNABETH! GO!"

Too weary to continue to object, she nodded, then darted into the trees.

Meanwhile, I ran. Like I'd never run before. I later told Annabeth that I was trying to buy time until she could find a suitable weapon to face the thing, but really I was just trying not to die.

Somewhere in this cat-and-mouse chase scene, I ended up on one side of Annabeth's car and Orthus on the other. Since the car was small, I could see Orthus over the top of the car, and I'm pretty sure at least one of his heads could see me. And there we were in that classic cliché – if I moved left, it would move right; if I moved right, it would move left. Too far to either side, and it would leap.

"Uh ... Annabeth? I could use that stick right about now!" I called.

* * *

**APOV:**

"I'm looking, I'm looking!" I shouted weakly, but I doubt he heard me.

Nothing seemed large enough. Then, I found it. A perfect branch, nice and thick, with no offshoots.

"Annabeth?" I heard Grover call. I had to hurry. I wasn't sure if my knife would do the job, but it didn't have to. The tree was dying, and I was able to snap the branch right off after a few hard tugs and grunts.

"I got it! I'm coming, Grover!"

"ANNABETH – AHH!"

I heard the pitter-patter of claws against something hard, wild barking. What –? I heard a yelp and a THUD.

_No. Not you. _I shut my eyes tight. "_No,_" I whispered. "_I can't lose you, too._"

Panicked and frenzied, I ran back towards the road.

* * *

**GPOV:**

"Uh, Annabeth? I could use that stick right about now!"

I heard her voice in the distance, but she was too far away to make words out of it.

"Annabeth?" I called. Where was she? Should it have been taking her this long? Had another monster taken her? It was like the trees were some kind of obscure boundary, separating the two of us.

Orthus wanted to end this game. "ANNABETH – AHH!" I screamed, as the dog leaped over the top of the car, its two heads snapping ferociously. I opened the car door and jumped inside, closing it behind me. I quickly hit the "lock all" button.

Orthus leaped onto the front hood and threw itself against the glass, trying to break in. It repeated this process a few times, and I knew I was done for.

My instincts took over. My hand reached for the gear shifter, which I switched to _R_. My hoof reached for the pedal and pressed down on it. The car lurched backwards, causing Orthus to slide off of the car. It hit the ground with a loud _yelp_. Then I switched the lever back to _D_, bringing the car forward and crushing the dog with a _THUD_. I backed up again and hopped out of the car.

Orthus still lay on the ground. It wasn't dead yet, but golden ichor was flowing from its skin and it looked rather crushed.

Annabeth burst through the trees, wielding a stick. "Grover!" Then her gaze fell to the monster at my feet.

Then it all clicked. I don't know where the thought came from, but it burst into my head and screamed out the answer, begging to be heard.

"Annabeth! I just realized why Orthus came back!"

Her face suddenly twisted, contorted, transformed into a look of a thousand emotions. Hatred was evident. Fear was gone.

"Why? WHY? BECAUSE IT'S A **MONSTER**!" She grabbed the stick and slammed it down on Orthus's chest. She beat the beast, again and again, practically frothing with sudden rage.

"No! Annabeth – ANNABETH!"

She stopped mid-swing and stood to face me. Her hair was wildly strewn across her face. Her knuckles were white around the stick. Her breathing was heavy. Her clothes were dirty and tattered – she hadn't changed in days. She was different, all right. She was changing. Conforming. No, not conforming – more the opposite. As soon as she had let her guard down, Percy was taken, and it was too much for her to handle. She went on overload, and became ... this. No longer the tough, ready-to-take-on-the-world-and-get-it-over-with Annabeth we all knew. No, this was a broken, hurt Annabeth, one I had never seen before.

"WHAT?" she shouted.

"Listen," I said calmly, grabbing for the stick. She pulled it out of my reach. Sighing, I continued: "There's a pattern here. The hydra. The Chimera. Orthus. Don't you see?"

She looked on in confusion.

"They're all children of Echidna. All three of them."

After a thoughtful moment, she realized, "So Echidna is sending all of her children out to get us?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. We'll have to be more careful. We never know what –Annabeth, what are you – ANNABETH!"

I tried to hold her back as she continued to whack the dying creature. Even after it burst into a small pile of golden powder, Annabeth continued to hit it, over and over and over, until the dust blew away, innocent victims of her rampage.

"Annabeth, it's dead! It's dead! It's okay!"

"NO!" she screamed, turning on me. "It's NOT okay! NOTHING'S okay! _NOTHING WILL **EVER** BE OKAY!_"

"Listen. I know how you feel! You're heartbroken that Percy is gone, and you feel like you betrayed him because you were supposed to be there for him. You're desperate to get him back, and you will do anything to get to him. You're shocked that you let Percy disappear from right under your nose, and you feel like you have to make it up to him. You're worried that he won't forgive you, and you're worried that you won't get there in time, and you're worried that you'll lose him. Believe me, I know. I feel the same way. But standing here and blowing up at the smallest things is not going to help with our problems. It's been what, _four days_ now? We can't afford to waste any more time. Four days gone, and we only have four left."

There were a few moments of unbroken silence. The only sounds were the soft breeze rustling the trees and the occasional chirp of a small bird fluttering by. Finally, Annabeth hung her head. "I'm sorry. You're right. I ... I just don't know what's happening to me. I'm losing my mind, Grover! And I'm scared! I'm slipping, and I don't – wait. _Four days_? Really?" I nodded grimly. "Wow. It feels like it's been an eternity. And ... thanks, Grover. I know you've just been trying to protect me." She offered a smile, and I returned it.

But then her face hardened. "But you have to understand that I can take care of myself. It's your job to protect Percy, not me. You've been going out of your way just to make sure that I don't get myself into a dangerous position, but that's my job. You know me, and I've always been a bit reckless. Especially now, apparently," she added with a weak smile. "So why? Why are you being so over-protective?"

"Because I lost Percy, too!" I yelled. I felt a tear roll out of my eye and down the side of my nose. I didn't brush it away. "It's always been my job to protect Percy. Sure, I understand you two are a couple now, you look out for each other as well, but this is my _job_. I was assigned to protect Percy, and I failed. Multiple times. And then as soon as I thought I had done something right, I failed again! I can't ... I can't do it. I can't! I have to get him back. For him, and for me."

"Then do you see?" she asked me. "Do you see now why I have to go, too?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I know why now. We'll go together."

She frowned. "What? No! I'm sorry, Grover, but I have to do this alone."

_WHAT?_ "But, Annabeth! I just told you! We have to –"

"No, Grover!" She raised the stick. "Don't make me do this, Grover."

"Annabeth – oh, no. Annabeth! What are you _doing_? I thought we were in this _together_! I thought you were my friend!"

"_If you were really my friend, you would know why I have to do this._" Her voice was different now. Raspy. Cold. Desperate.

"Annabeth, no!"

"_See you back at camp._"

WHAM.

A sharp pain erupted in my right cheek as the ground got closer and closer ... THUMP. Pain. Black ... that's all there was. Black. The world was gone, and everything was black.

* * *

**APOV:**

I stood over Grover. My friend. My friend – the one I had just whacked into unconsciousness with a stick.

_Did I really just do that?_

I walked back to the truck. But I didn't want to. My fear was trapped inside of me. A prisoner. Not in control. I could beg myself to turn around, to run to Grover, to help him, to go together to Powell. I could beg and scream and plead to myself all I wanted, but nothing happened. My thoughts and actions were no longer linked. It was like they were two completely different entities separated by a brick wall. Like I had a Yeerk in my head.

My left hand opened the truck door and closed it behind me. My right hand dropped the stick into the backseat. My left hand then came to rest on the steering wheel. My right hand then reached for the gear shift.

My head turned for one last look at Grover, who was still knocked out on the side of the road by the trees.

_No! Don't do this!_

The gear shift was pulled.

The gas pedal was pressed.

I drove away.

But I didn't.

Not really.

* * *

**The end has officially come for **_**The Kidnapped Hero Trilogy: Desperation**_**. Uh ... grr. There was something else I had to say, but when my STUPID COMPUTER backed out of the document, I lost over 500 words. Ulgh. I still haven't learned. Ah, well. I hope you enjoyed!**

**FUN FACT: When I was originally trying to come up with a title for this story, I was stuck for ideas, because I hadn't planned out any of the plot yet. The trilogy's title, _Kidnapped Hero_, came after about five minutes. But it took me FOREVER to decide on _Desperation_. Even then, I didn't think it would be accurate. I don't even know where it came from. But as I got further and further into this story, I realized that I was actually using the word every so often, and increasingly so. That's when I realized that I had picked a good title!**

***phew* There. I finally retyped everything my STUPID COMPUTER wiped out. It wiped out everything from **_She frowned. "What? No! I'm sorry, Grover, but I have to do this alone." _**to this paragraph right here. Ugh. So annoying. I hate my comput – ooh, COOKIE! *munch munch munchie munch***

**So now, rainingtearsofchocolate, his STUPID COMPUTER (I don't know why I always say that loud), his Phineas and Ferb reference, his Animorphs reference, and his cookie – er, never mind, the cookie's gone. So I guess just rainingtearsofchocolate, his STUPID COMPUTER, and his references bid you adieu.**

***pause* Oh wait, that's my line! Adieu!**

_**– THE KIDNAPPED HERO TRILOGY 1: DESPERATION: OVER. –**_

_**– **__**THE KIDNAPPED HERO TRILOGY 2: DESOLATION IS OUT NOW –**_


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